Book 5: War Finale
by Akamery
Summary: They've been through so much, and now the Brothers, their lovers, and their allies all come to the Final Battle with Karai and Ciar. Who will win? Who will be lost? The War between the Foot and the Bothers will finally be decided.
1. Memories

Memories

It was the day after the wedding. Michelangelo had fallen into a world full of dreams and memories, but one struck a chord. He woke up, light blinding in his eyes, so he turned to the side, trying to stifle his giggles. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about some of these memories. "Oh gosh," He said softly, trying hard not to wake up Nao. The memory entered his head again and he started laughing harder.

Nao shifted, blinking open her hazel eyes, "Mikey-kun?" she giggled at his laughter, "More funny dreams?" she teased poking his arm.

"Memories I suppose." Mikey said as he turned to face her. The smile never left his face as he brought her close to hug her. "I remembered the time when Rae got really, really sick and Raph had his ribs broken and she tried to nurse him only to have him get up and drag her to his room. She was blushing crimson." He laughed harder. "Also the memory of when Lily scared Donny. He went out looking for her for a whole day. When he came back, she was there." He shook his head.

"Didn't Raph drag Rae off last night, too?" Nao asked smiling and nuzzled against his bare chest, breathing in his scent.

"Blushing crimson all the while too…Which is probably what triggered the memory," Mikey agreed with a laugh. He ran his fingers through Nao's hair before leaning and kissed her lips and then her cheek.

Nao giggled, "You're affectionate this morning," she brushed her nose with his, "During what time was this memory?"

"It was before I met you," Michelangelo said softly, "It was after Thanksgiving Day."

Nao remembered the others telling her how lonely he was during those times, "I'm sorry," she said gently rubbing his cheek, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mikey said gently as he took her hand that was on his cheek in his own, "I have you now."

Nao smiled gently, "Shall we go see what Ellie is cooking this morning?" she offered, "I hear we've got a new arrival to boot."

"Let's do so," Mikey said with a grin, "Let's get dressed first."

Nao blushed, "That would be wise," she giggled as she watched him sit up, only the blankets covering his lower half, "You will never be shy, will you?" she laughed and shook her head.

"Nope," Mikey said with a grin.

Lily stirred and shifted, realizing with a blurred mind that the blankets were covering her head, "Mer…" she yawned and nuzzled her pillow, which so happened to be Donatello.

Donny groaned softly and opened his eyes, "Morning Lil." He yawned and stretched.

"Mm…Don, 'member way back when, I was gone for 9 days?" Lily asked into his nude back.

"I remember," Don said as turned around to face her, "You had me worried."

"Why were you worried?" Lily asked watching him, and moved to fix her nightgown so it wasn't choking her, "You never answered when I asked you a couple days later."

"Because you scared me," Donny said, "Because if I didn't know it then, I know it now. I loved you and was scared for you. I couldn't imagine what happened to you."

Lily poked his cheek, "You remember the little kitten?"

"Yeah," Donny said with a nod. "Funny, I never remembered where she went. She used to look like you." He paused, "Unless…that was you all along?"

"Hai!" Lily grinned hugely, "I was the little kitten!"

Donny groaned as he tossed an arm over his eyes. Well, that explained why Rae had brought the kitty home. "I should have known." He sighed as he peeked at her, "I feel like a fool. I don't know. I'm glad it was you, but at the same time I should have figured it out."

"You'd been working on several experiments, so you were tired," Lily rolled her eyes but giggled and kissed his neck, feeling hm shiver. The smell of warm milk filled her nose and she blinked, "That…scent…no way!" she jumped up and out of bed, "FRAN?" she didn't even bother changing her clothes

Donny watched her leave blinking as he sat up. _'Fran?'_ He thought with wonderment. He walked to the dresser and grabbed a shirt before following Lily down the stairs.

Lily raced to the kitchen throwing open the door, "Fran?" she asked, her eyes wide.

The human-neko was smiling happily, his golden blond and brown hair was tied up in a long braid that reached to the back of his knees. "Lily!" He said as he ran over to her and grabbed her. He twirled around three times before putting her down. "I'm so glad to see you. How have you been?"

Lily hugged him tightly, but not too tight, "I've been doing great!" she kissed his cheek and then hit his head, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

"I've been working. I heard that Rae got married so I decided to come back and see how she was. Also, I missed my little sister so I wanted to come and see her to. Ellie forgot to mention you been here for a month." He glared over at the said dog-shifter who didn't respond to the look.

Lily giggled and hugged him again, "I missed you so much, Fran!" she sighed, "Why'd it take you so long to come back? You didn't even say you were leaving!"

"That's because I didn't know I was leaving," Frances said with a laugh. "I had some stuff to do for Ian. That's all. Also, I had to hang around Lighting Force." He made a face, "They made fun of my ears and I think one of them touched my tail to make sure it was real."

Lily reached up and rubbed his ears, grinning as he immediately purred and she petted his tail, "I'm sorry," she giggled at his now dazed expression.

"I don't know if I should tell you this," Frances said as he purred, "But that boy is giving me a look and I don't like it. It's a cross between "you're messing with my girlfriend" and "who the fuck is this dude."

"A brother?" Donny asked in surprise, "It's…nice to meet you."

"Ah, so you're the guy who got Lil twisted in knots." Frances nodded. "Glad you caught her. She talked non-stop about you."

"Fran!" Lily blushed and tweaked his ear so he'd drop to his knees, but not in pain. She stood up, laughing as he stared at the ceiling with swirling eyes.

Donny blinked in surprise and smiled a bit. So, this was where Lily had been when she had disappeared for those nine days. She had been here, "I'm glad to know that."

"I came here more often than you think, Donny," Lily grinned and felt the breeze, looking down to see Fran scrambling up, "Why you!" she squeaked blushing like mad, "I'll get you for that!" she hurried off to fix the rude reminder that she had a nightgown on.

Lily's scream woke Rachel up fairly quickly and she smiled to herself. Only Lily would scream if someone she knew was back, which was of course Frances. She turned her head to look at Raphael's peaceful sleeping face, his soft rumbling was soothing. She gently nestled closer to him, watching his face as he slept. He was so…beautiful and at peace when he did this. She reached up and traced a line on his cheek. The golden ring that was on her left hand was a reminder of who this man belonged to…who she belonged to. She didn't want it any other way.

Rae rested her head against her arm that was resting on the pillow. Her eyes were half-way closed as she continued to watch him when she felt something against her hip. She blinked, wondering if Raph was shifting around. "Are you waking up?" She whispered.

Raph grumbled, but only changed positions to be on his side facing her, rumbling again.

She narrowed her eyes. So it had been him that was moving around. She gently brought her hand up and was just about to shake him when she felt something move again. "Wake up." She shook him.

Raphael growled in his throat and slowly blinked his eyes open, "Wha…?" he frowned and brought his hand up to rub his eyes.

Rachel grinned. "Morning," she said as she leaned over him to gently kissed his cheek. "Sleep well?" She asked curiously.

Raph blinked and smiled at her, reaching up and bringing her into a hug, rolling so she was lying on top of him, "I slept wonderfully, my amazing _wife_," he grinned proudly.

"I'm glad to hear that my newly-wedded _husband_," She teased him as she rested her head against his shoulder. Again something kicked her and this time she understood what it was. She sat up so fast her head spun. "Raph!" She grabbed his hand and dragged it to her stomach, feeling for the kick. She focused, trying to guess where the child was going to kick next. She grinned proudly when she guessed right. "He's moving!" She squealed.

Raphael laughed and splayed his hand over her abdomen, "That's amazing, Rae!" he shifted so he was over her and he leaned down, placing his ear to her skin, "Sugoi!" he kissed her belly.

Rachel grinned widely as she watched him look excited. She was so happy. She giggled, "I thought that you were accidentally hitting me, so that's one of the reasons why I woke you up." She told him sheepishly.

"I don't mind," Raph nuzzled her and then leaned back over her, kissing her deeply, "I'm so, so glad we get to have our little tike together…" he rested his forehead against hers, "Arigato, my lovely Rachel."

"I'm glad too…" She said with a blush. "We should go down stairs and get something to eat." She brought her arms around his neck and gave him a light kiss. "What do you think love?"

"Alright," Raph nuzzled her neck and kissed her mark before sitting up and stretching, "Man…my stomach's growling…used up a lot of energy last night," he smirked.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she sat up and got off of the bed. She went to the dresser and tossed him his clothes before finding hers, "We had a bit of sake, danced, made love a few times, what man wouldn't be tired from it all." She joked at him.

Raphael snickered and got dressed, "Feisty as always," he grinned and waited at the door, "Mm...What was Lily going berserk over, by the way?"

"I believe Frances is back," Rachel said with a sigh, "And I have a feeling that I'm going to get a mad kitty on my hands. I'm surprised he hasn't come to try to find us." She finished getting dressed and went over to him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and grinned. "Let's go down," She told him as she opened the door and guided him down the stairs.

Lily bounded down the stairs, "Hi, Rae, Raph!" She greeted, "Can you two do me a favor?" she asked.

"Sure," Rachel said with a smile, "What do you want us to do?"

"Fran flipped my nightgown, I wanna get him back," Lily folded her arms with a smirk, "Could you manage to get him to the bottom of the stairs, please?"

"That's going to be easy." Rachel said with a smile. "Sure."

"Arigato," Lily giggled and went back up the way she came.

"Oooook," Raph shrugged, "This'll be interesting."

"Yea, especially if you consider the first thing Frances is going to do is shove me aside if I tell him to wait at the bottom of the stairs." Rachel said with a laugh as she went down the last flight of stairs. "Besides, I want to prolong any conversation I can with him, because he gets put-off easy." She smiled. "Heya!" She called as she ended the stairs, "Hey! Fran, do me a favor and stand where I'm standing."

Electric and Sam both came out of the training room to see what was going on. They both looked at each other and smirked as Frances bounded over to her. Both of them agreed that he should have been a human-inu, not a human-neko. Rae grinned and petted his ears before getting out of the way.


	2. New Faces

New Faces

Lily rawred as she bounded off the steps toward Fran. She managed to successfully tackle him to the ground and along the floor. Knocking things over, she finally ended up squeezing Fran in a death-hug while grinning, her tail flipping back and forth, ears perked, "I TOLD you I'd get you back!"

"Ouch." Frances whimpered as he hugged her back and rolled over to get on top of her. He sat on her stomach and folded his arms with a pout. "That's not fair."

"Is to!" Lily rolled back over, locking her arms around his neck.

Electric and Sam looked at each other before glancing over at Donny who looked like he was trying to concentrate a little too hard on the coffee. "So, Donny is the easily-jealous type, Frances is the easily-rejected type…what's Lily?" Electric whispered.

"Easily-flirtatious," Sam responded.

"You guys should let the poor boy breathe." Ellie said as she came out from her domain. She glanced over at Raphael and Rachel. "Now isn't this a sight," She joked, "I would have thought you two would have stayed all day in bed, if you catch my drift."

"Hey now, we need your delicious food to keep our energy up," Raph grinned hugely wrapping his arm around Rae's shoulders.

Frances started laughing as he gently pushed Lily off of him, but hugged her when they both sat up. His tail went back and forth and his ears were happily perked. He glanced over at the couple and smiled. "Well now..." He murmured as he gently pulled away from Lily. He walked over and jumped on Rae's back, locking his arms around her neck. He looked at man beside her. His brown eyebrow raised up a bit in curiosity. "I smell fire and earth. Like a humid volcano." He said to him. "I'm guessing you control two elements." He paused as he jumped off of Rae. "You married her right?"

"Why else would he be wrapping his arm around me?" Rachel sweatdropped. "And thank you for getting off of me."

"Hush." Frances said, mock glaring at her. "I want to hear it from him."

"Oh sometimes I hate being the one who found you." Rachel grumbled.

"And sometimes I hate being your lovely damsel." Frances teased back. "Now hush." Rae stuck her tongue out at him and he ignored her.

Raphael smirked and poked him, chuckling as the neko swished his tail at him, "Yeah, I married her. We're going to have a family, too. Why?" he folded his arms grinning.

"I can tell," He said pointing at her stomach. "I just wanted to know if her husband bailed out. I heard that she had one hell of a wedding." He shot her a glare. "And didn't invite me." He tossed his head to the side. "Anyway," He turned back to him. "I wanted to know what kind of person you are. I already get the feeling I know Donny because Lily talks about him so much. Like him being an insomniac, never leaves his lab, likes to play around with…ah…what's that weapon called?" He thought about it. "It's some sort of stick. Anyway, and that he's a ninja. I have no idea who you are though."

"It's called a bo-staff you mental cat." Rachel sighed. "How many times are you going to get that wrong?"

"Oh yeah, and he's easily envious." Frances continued, ignoring Rae.

Raph laughed, "I'm Don's brother, thanks," he answered and pulled a sai from his belt twirling it, "Really…I think we've met before."

"Have we?" Frances asked as he glanced at the sai. "Ah…you don't want to twirl that. I like sparkly things and if that thing glitters in the light I might bat at it."

"Have some self-control." Rachel groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "Surely you know better than to play with sharp objects."

"I had to play with them while I was out doing your job Miss Priss." Frances replied. "I didn't have much of a choice." He paused for a second. "Oh! I think I…no…we never met. I met a turtle once."

Electric and Sam burst out laughing in the background.

Raph smirked and tapped Fran's shoulder, "I might think there would be a scar there?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"What did you do to him?" Rachel glared at Raphael.

"Absolutely nothing, I just saw it that night 'cause his sweater was too big," Raph shrugged.

Frances gave her a look. "If you were around, you'd know that he didn't do it." He turned back to Raph and raised an eyebrow, "And I don't recall seeing you. That turtle had me by that same weapon you're holding. He asked me where…no…HOW THE HELL IS THAT YOU?"

"Calm the fuck down!" Rachel laughed, "I gave him some my blood in a transfusion," she said with a smile. "And he turned human."

Frances blinked a few times. "So, by that logic, I have cats blood in me?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Rachel said with a smile.

"Actually, yes," Nao answered as she came down the stairs, Michelangelo behind her, "That would be correct." She sighed, "The Foot did it to me, that is how I have cat's eyes sometimes, and my eyes change color to match the brothers'. However, that was through small amounts of blood from each." She smiled sadly, "There were two before me...One had all of a black cat's blood, and that made her human-neko...just add fur all over your body," she explained.

"But you remember who did it to you, right?" Frances asked with a frown. "I wonder why I can't recall anything."

"Do you remember darkness, and pain?" Nao asked coming to stand by him, "The Foot…have quite a way of doing things. You might have been drugged, or just…" she stepped back into Mikey holding her head, "Don't want to remember."

"It's possible my memory suppressed itself. I have no real way of knowing who I really am or what not and personally I'm not willing enough to go off and find who I was before I became Frances." Frances said with a shrug. "So, I'm just going to say I thought I was vampire or something. I must have been a failed experiment or something. That would make sense."

"He just takes this all in as if it's yesterday news." Electric stared. "Where's all the depression glory?"

"What's there to be depressed about?" Frances asked with a blink. "It's a new possibility I didn't think of, don't really care much, and I just shoved aside into a folder. Now then…" He frowned. "I see three new faces. You, you." He pointed to Nao and Mikey. "And you…ah four. You and you." He pointed to Leo and Bria who just came down the stairs.

He glanced over at Raph. "And I'm guessing you're going to tell me that these two are your brothers, too? What kind of family were you guys? Were you all turtles or was it a rat, a turtle, a cat, a dog, or something of the sort?"

Bria grinned, "A new kitty!" she bounced over and reached for his ears.

Raphael rubbed his head, ""Four turtle brothers. Don, me, Mikey is the blue-eyed one, and Leo is the one who just joined us."

"I see." Frances said as he grabbed the girl's wrists and blinked at her. "You have the same scent as Rae." He said with a blink, "Only with a slight difference. I'm guessing you guys are half-sisters?"

"Hey now, Ian fixed the left wrist, don't beak it," Bria pouted, "Yes, we're half-sisters through our father."

"Oh." Frances said as he let the wrists go and looked over at Rae and then smiled as he looked back at Bria. "Well then." He said as he folded his arms. "I guess I should thank you for watching over her." He reached over and grabbed her chin, "And for being her third family." He pecked her lips teasingly. He heard a growl and he laughed. "Are all you the jealous types?"

"Jealous? No. I just don't people randomly kissing someone that I like and belong." Leo said with a shake of his head, "None of us do."

"So If I kissed Lily, hug that girl over there, and played with Rae all of you would act like that?" Frances asked seriously. "Wow..." He looked over at Lily. "Tell me again why you're marrying them?"

Lily giggled, "Don'd knock you unconscious, hugs are fine, and Raph would dice you up and barbecue you for lunch…" she answered first as she saw Bria holding her mouth and stepping back into Leo, "I'm marrying Donny because I love him. That's all our reasons, and each no doubt has other, more personal reasons but love and devotion is the general one."

Frances rolled his eyes. "What fun. It's not like I'd do that to you or your sister. Speaking of, when are you going to have your kittens?" He asked looking at Bria. "I can smell the scent of pregnancy, it's one of things you and your very obviously big sister over there have in common."

Rachel stuck her tongue out. "At least I know why I am." She shot at him with a flip of her hair, "Meanie."

Bria shrugged, "I really don't know. I haven't figured out the math...but I'm guessing sometime around Autumn…September or October."

"Ah. I thought it would be spring," Frances said.

"I'll be Spring," Lily laughed as Ellie tapped the bell to call them to the table.

Frances turned to her. "You're pregnant to?" Even Don looked shocked.

"Steady." Rachel told the genius as Donny tried to think in his head, "Lily, maybe next time you should refrain yourself to give people heart attacks."

"Aw, but that wouldn't be any fun," Lily swished her tail, grinning hugely, "Yes, I'm pregnant."


	3. Table Talk

Table Talk

Frances glanced over at Donny who slunk down in his chair and put his head in his hands. He blinked a few times before looking over at Leo and Bria and then over at Mikey and Nao, "Any other surprises for this table so we can save the dying?"

"I'm not dying, Fran," Donny said, "I'm trying to get my wits back."

"And how's that going for you?" Electric and Frances said together. They both looked at each other with a raised eyebrow before turning their attention back to the genius.

Lily pouted, "Gomen?" she asked uncertainly.

"Don't apologize," Donny said as he looked up at Lily, "It's fantastic news." He told her gently, "I'm just shocked."

"You know the usual reaction is to cheer and hug her hard enough so that she says "I can't breathe" and then you put her down and let her bounce around happy." Frances pointed out, "You can't be that much of a shut in."

Ellie sighed happily. "That's three families we get to welcome." The dog shape-shifter grinned widely. "This is so exciting!"

Lily blushed a bit, "That it is," she scratched her cheek, "So…What's for breakfast this morning?" she asked as she scooted her chair closer to Don and waved her hand in front of his dazed face.

Ellie grinned and started bring out the plates. "Eggs, toast, bacon, pancakes and since Frances is here, we have waffles. This pile is chocolate chip, this one is strawberry and this one is pecan. The plains ones are in the middle." She explained as she set the last plate down after her three trips to the kitchen.

Donny blinked and glanced over at Lily, "Nani?"

"Are you **sure** you're not dying?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I'm quite positive." Donny said with a gentle smile. "I'm just thinking. Sorry. I should be enthused about the news and everything."

"Worrying about that final battle that's coming up?" When Donny shot Frances a glare, the human-neko nodded, "Bingo."

"Shut up, or I'll tweak your ears enough to make sure you go unconscious," Lily glanced at him sharply.

"I call the Chocolate Chip waffles!" Brianna called and raced Electric for them.

"Strawberry!" Nao shouted and attempted to beat Sam for them.

"No need to get violent. I understand perfectly." Frances said as he leaned over and scooted the plain waffles closer and dodged Eletric's and Brianna's flying hands to steal two from the pile and push it back. "Ian and Lese are spending more time with Nicky and Danny." He looked at Donny. "But think of it this way, enjoy it now and cherish it. There's no need to overthink the simple things. Sometimes I wonder if that's the problem with geniuses."

"No fair!" Sam cried out as he tried to fight over them with Nao.

Donny watched Frances for a while before chuckling and shaking his head. "I think you're right." He smiled at Lily and gave her a one-armed hug. "I should enjoy this."

"That's the spirit!" Frances said with a grin.

"I'm going to steal them back." Sam said. "Or at least share them! What's the harm of having one?"

"I'm playing, don't get your balls in a pinch, that's Matt's job," Nao giggled as Raph stole two with his Sai and place one on his and one on Rachel's plates.

"Freaking ninjas." Sam and Electric muttered as Leo had snatched a plate from Electric hands and gave it to Bria.

"Speaking of, where is the hyper-active blond?" Frances asked. "And where's the uptight doctor...what's his face...Alex?"

"His name is Andy," Rachel sweatdropped. "Ian couldn't get him out work so he's doing that. Matt couldn't stand another moment away from the salon, so she's working there too. She'll be back."

"Thank you, Leo," Bria said lovingly and grinned as she took several pieces from the plate.

Jacob took two pieces of the pecan waffles and reached for the blueberry syrup and poured a generous amount on it.

Frances winced as he looked at it, "Nuts with blueberries…one might mistake you for a squirrel."

"Ah," Jacob said with a smile on his face, "But since you enjoy carrots when you can get them, one might believe you to be a rabbit."

"I would make a horrible white bunny," Frances said with a horrified expression on his face.

Ellie snickered, "Sadly, Franny, I can picture you in a bunny suit."

"Get that mental picture out of your head right now!" Frances shrieked, turning red, "I'm a neko! A neko! A cat!"

Lily shook her head and took one chocolate chip and one strawberry waffle, as well as several pieces of bacon, "Your guys' imaginations freak me out sometimes…"

Ellie grinned and Frances just shook his head. Electric decided to be the one to say something. "We're not as bad as Ian or Rae. Both of them are so morbid…" He shuddered, "It scares even me and I love horror stories."

Rachel rolled her eyes, "I think Ian much worse than me. I can't stand being in the same room as a movie going. Sam," She glared over at the red-head who smirked.

"Matt is pretty bad too…and Andy when he's drunk enough to be random," Jacob replied, "Remember Ellie?"

She nodded a few times solemnly, "You know, everyone's imagination's are a little different." She said randomly, "Maybe that's why we got pwned during the Prelude."

"Or maybe it's because you guys had bad timing," Frances snorted, "You need more people to handle that kind of battle. You guys were sorely outnumbered. Big time."

"Ah, so are you volunteering to actually fight with us?" Ellie squealed.

"No," He responded, "I like my life thanks."

"Boring," She whimpered.

"You already have a suicidal doctor, why do you want another suicidal neko?" Frances asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that?" Electric asked in curiosity as he took a bite of his waffle and swallowed, barely chewing on it, "Andy's not suicidal."

"He's training with Ian and been talking to Jason." Frances said with a shrug and smirked at Rae, "And who says I can't do a woman's job?" He teased her.

"I bet you don't know what they were talking about." Rachel challenged with a smile.

"Ah...that's...is true." Frances said with a shrug.

"Score one for the woman's team." She grinned.

Bria laughed, "Nice, sis," she smiled.

"I do wonder though if Jason's going to com here and try to combine teams. I may not have heard the conversation, but it's no secret to know that your friend is a little pissed off." Frances pointed out.

"I think he's furiously angry. That was his favorite base they had to destroy." Rachel sighed. "I won't be surprised if he comes here and demands to know everything and forces Ian to accept the alliance. Then again, that's a bad thing…the Water Snakes are no longer of the Three Majors…"

"Well…" Frances and Rachel both looked at each other. "It's not for certain. I mean, it's no secret the Water Snakes are gone…but…there's still gangs who want to take that place…so…more gangwars are going to occur."

"And while that goes on, Ian and Jason are at wits end trying to find a gang to nominate." Frances paused. "I know two that they might nominate."

"I don't want to hear it." Rachel said, pointing her fork at him. "Because once you do Ian will know that I know and Jason will have a hunch I have an idea and then I'll have to spill my guts about what I know about the two gangs."

"That's a lot of knowing," Raph mumbled through a piece of waffle.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Raph," Lily sighed and took another bite of bacon.

"And you're a part of that knowing my friend." Frances said with a laugh. "It's okay Lily, he makes Electric and Sam look like pigs."

"I resent that!" The said duo cried out.

Lily tapped her chin, "You're right," she added fuel to the fire.

The two glared at her heatedly and Frances picked up his glass of milk. "Calm down you two or I'll pour this over you guys." He warned them, "Lily that goes for you too darling."

"Favoritism," Sam grumbled as he folded his arms, "You added her last."

"It was an afterthought," Frances grinned.

Lily grinned and just sipped her drink, "Fran! You remembered how I make cocoa!" she laughed, highly pleased.

"Well…yes…" He said with a slight blush and he turned away. "You were…quite specific."

"I think he still has a crush on you." Rachel said as she took a drink with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Lily blushed hotter than Fran was but said nothing as she sipped her cocoa and shrank into her shoulders, embarrassed.

Donny looked over at Lily to Frances and back to Lily again. "Do I want to know?"

"Um…" The four who were witnesses to the nine days and more just shared a glance at each other. Whether they were trying to swear secrecy without saying anything or not, was beyond Donny.

"We fooled around." Frances responded honestly. "She loved you then and now." He shrugged at him. "And before you get angry, think about it this way. If a hot girl walked into your lab and Lily wasn't around, I'm sure you would fool around too." He nodded. "I know this because I'm a guy."

"Surprisingly straight too," Electric muttered under his breath.

"I heard that," The neko glared over at him.

"Whoo!" Nao waved her hands, since she was closest to Fran, and she scooted closer to Michelangelo, "Ok, ok, enough of that topic, mm?" she asked her cheeks darkening. She heard Mikey's attempt to stifle a snicker as he heard her thoughts and she hit his arm.

Rachel laughed, "That's probably a good thing."

"It is," Frances sighed in relief.

Lily mewed and swished her tail, putting her cup down and getting up, trying to repress those thoughts at the same time keep Don from seeing no doubt Nao only saw glimpses of. "Food was great, Ellie…" she added taking her plate to the kitchen and left it in the fridge for later. Quickly she decided to go hide in the training room…but that was a bad idea, because that was where most of the 9 days was spent. She groaned and floated up to one of the rafters, no idea where else to go.

Donny wondered what had happened during the nine days that Lily had spent with Frances. He had a hunch that he knew, but decided to wait until Lily told him herself. He was a bit…no…he was very envious that Frances had probably touched Lily first before he had.


	4. Fantasy Cuts

Fantasy Cuts

"Hey, Leo," Brianna decided to change the subject after she got an idea while she was twirling her hair, "Wanna go check out Matt's salon with me?"

Leonardo blinked as he looked over at Bria. "If you want to," He said, wondering why she wanted to go. "Are you thinking about styling your hair or cutting it or something?"

Bria rubbed her neck sheepishly, "Yeah…ever since the Prelude and the fire and everything, I've been in desperate need of a touch-up job."

Nao pursed her lips, thinking of the same thing, "Could…you take me with you?" she winced looking at her hair which had several frayed bits and also a bit uneven parts where weapons sliced at it.

"Sure!" Bria grinned.

Frances watched the two girls with an eyeroll, "Why don't you take all the girls. Make it a day out?"

Leo now was torn between either going with Bria or staying behind. He admitted that he wanted to see the salon too. He wondered what was like and everything. It would be an interesting place to go.

"That would be a great idea…if you could get Lily to come down from the rafters," Gabriella yawned as she came in.

"Ah…" Frances said as he thought about it, "Who should go get her? I can jump that high."

"I would say fine, but shy's crying. You _suck_ when it comes to comforting a girl," Ella shook her head and picked up a piece of bacon, nibbling on it, "Unfortunately, Donny, you can't either. She's trying to figure out how to explain…"

"Thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt," Frances pouted.

"Hey, I don't know how much you changed, if you wanna try you tricks at balancing then go right ahead," Gabriella shrugged and took a strawberry waffle, sitting next to Ellie.

Frances grinned and went to the training room. He transformed into a cat. He leaped up to the rafters and walked around on them, getting close to Lily, "Mew," **Hi.**

Lily looked up from her hands and wiped her cheeks, "F-Fran…H-Hi…" she responded softly.

He transformed back and watched her for a little bit and pointed down to the ground, signifying that he was thinking of Donny, "Are you scared of what he might think of you?"

Lily frowned deeply and looked away from him, trying not to think of those nine days, "Yes…" she murmured, "At the same time, no…" she shook her head and covered her face, "He would understand because he has my blood in him which made him more…in-tune with…that sort of thing…" she felt her body flush hotly and she shifted uncomfortably, "However…He…trusted me to tell him everything, as I do with him…I'm **also** trying to figure out how in the hell to keep him from secretly pounding your head in the wall…Dear Kami, I already feel his jealousy of you, Fran!"

"Well," Frances sighed as he looked down at the ground. "Tell him what you want and the truth." He said honestly, looking at her. "Tell him all of your concerns so he won't act on them. It's a guy's weakness. Even though we want to prove we're the alpha male, the women control us more. I mean, Ian and Lese are a perfect example. He can do anything he wants, but if Lese objects or says something, he stops and thinks and listens. Nine times out of ten, he obeys her whims."

Lily frowned and rubbed her forehead, "It's just so frustrating, but…I'll try," she sighed, "But, even if he doesn't knock you out, he will not like you very well…"

"If everyone liked everyone then there wouldn't be war." Frances replied gently. "I can handle being disliked."

Brianna looked around and grinned, "This is so awesome!" she bounced and jumped on Leo from behind, "What do you think?"

The salon was very high casual. The chairs went to six in a row, and all had their own spaces. Two men, one cross-dresser, and two women were cutting hair, handing out compliments and all around talking to the customers. The men, obviously, were doing a fabulous job at cutting hair while compared the women were doing just standard. In the back of the salon was a back that had a double glass door and on the glass door was a big paper sign that said spa.

"And you're done," the cross-dresser sang as she pulled the fabric away and started brushing off the stray hairs. She was wearing tight jeans, a lose blouse and her hair was fashioned like a waterfall. The top was curled under, the layer underneath was curled under and the bottom layer was curled under, but the hair went straight into the curl, no strand was astray. "Thank you," She chirped as she went over to the desk and rang the girl up, "Oh! Heya guys! Welcome." Matt grinned.

"Is this your place Matt?" Michelangelo asked in a soft whistle. The walls were decorated with pictures of models and of their hair and on the small shelves were wigs and wigs of hairstyles that were impossible to create. "You really outdid yourself."

"Thanks." Matt beamed. "The previous owner couldn't handle the salon anymore so I bought it from her with money I saved up during my all around part time and full time jobs." Everyone that was in Mikey's and Leo's group understood the under layer of what he was saying. He had bought it with the money she got from being an Informer. "I hated the old place so much, so I made everyone pitch in and help me." She beamed.

"That's quite amazing," Nao complimented as she went over and looked at some of the wigs. She heard several people whispering or even saying about her hair and how long it was, _'Oh…oh why did my hair-band have to break?' _she blushed deeply.

"Thanks." Matt said with a grin. "So, five walk-ins I take it?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Or shall I not include you Lionheart?" Leo shook his head left to right, he was not willing to cut his hair or try it out. He liked the way it was. Bria even said so.

"At least a trim for him," Bria admitted hooking her arm around him before he could get away, "Split-ends are no good for anybody, ya know, Mattie?"

"Wow, Leo, you're caught deeply in her web," Lily chuckled finally speaking up from behind them.

Leo made a face, but agreed to do it anyway with a slight nod. He composed himself enough not to blush or anything. Mikey on the other hand could read his brother like a book and hid his snickering.

"I do." Matt said as she wrote it down. "What else is needed done? All for trims? You could use a little bit of damage control darling, same with Nao." She winced. "You both have fried ends and hair."

"Quite right," Bria nodded, "Trims for the boys, and I'm willing to let you have your way with my hair. However, use a straightened and I will hurt you," she warned.

"Why?" Matt asked curiously, "You might look nice with straightened hair."

"Absolutely not! Last time someone took one to me I didn't get my curls back for another year, and my hair had to be cut shorter," Bria said folding her arms defiantly.

Matt rolled her eyes, "I'll indulge you." She promised. "What about you Lily? Nao?" She asked as the pen flew across the paper and she looked through the schedule book.

"I've never had my hair cut before...but be careful," Lily said gently, "When my hair is bound, or bound too tight, I feel like I'm being choked. I'll let you do as you please, though."

"Ellie's like that to," Matt said gently, "I understand." She wrote something else down and turned to Nao, "You?"

"Please...don't cut it short, only what you need. Growing my hair out was in defiance of…them who tried to keep it short," Nao sighed, "Other than that, do what you want."

"Then we may just cut a few inches off so that it won't get too long…Waist or we can layer it so it won't be so short but it won't be so long either?" Matt asked, as she rubbed the pen against her pink glossed lips.

"I'll let you layer it, Matt," Nao smiled at her.

"Alright," Matt said as she wrote that down as well. "Okay, five walk ins…" She glanced over at the tables that were nearly completed. "I'm finished and I don't have an appointment coming any time soon...Amber is nearly done and her appointment comes in around an hour and thirty minutes…" She murmured to herself. "Kevin is taken so that leaves Phillip who is nearly done too and doesn't have an appointment until four, lucky bastard..." She glanced over. "So Phillip doing two people," She looked up at them. "So…I'll take one, Phillup can pick his two, and Amber can pick one…and Meg will take one too since her client isn't coming until two." She looked up at them again, "Any takers?"

"May I have you, Matt?" Lily asked.

"I'd be honored!" Matt said as she wrote it down in her book. "I don't know which one will be done next so, if one of the girls come up here or one of the guys, someone run up to them and they'll look at the notebook and take you back." She winked at them as she walked Lily to a back and made her sit down so she could start washing her hair, mindful of the neko ears. She didn't say a word until she was done washing the hair and made her sit down at her station. She brought Lily's hair down. "I think we should cut it just a bit to the shoulders and razor the ends to give it a wild look, we can also layer it and razor it for a better look." She said, "What do you think?"

"Layers and wild?" Lily shrugged with a smirk, "Wild in any case."

"Alrighty then," Matt said as she gathered the hair over the chair and started combing it out gently. "You have lots and lots of hair." She murmured as she started to part it and put it up loosely so it would be out of her way when she started cutting. "I'm surprised you asked for me."

"You said Ellie is the same way…I wanted someone I knew and an expert," Lily smiled.

Matt laughed, "That is true. Also, I can tell something's bugging you," She said gently.

"It's…um…Don and Frances…" Lily blushed deeply, "Did you hear about the 9 days way back when that Rae brought me over?"

"I was there." Matt agreed. "I was in Fireside's Main City, and Frances visited me quite often. He…ah…told me about the lovely human-neko. I never assumed it was you though," She said as she started sipping at the ends in a quick yet precise manner.

Lily winced at the feeling of being cut, but bared with it, "What…did he say?" she asked.

"How lovely she was, all of her characteristics, what she liked, what she disliked, and the whole crush thing you know?" Matt replied as she twirled the scissors to get a better angle and switched again. "He was fantastically so well in-tune I thought I was going to choke on all the knowledge. Naturally, he told me everything so to speak. Why do you ask?"

Lily groaned and rubbed her face, careful not to move her head. Frustrated, she explained about that morning's issues back at the hideout.

"Oh." Matt replied softly as she moved to the side of Lily's head and started working there, "I understand perfectly. To be honest with you, there's no way to counter that. Let's say Rae for an example or even myself tell Sam about the interesting nine days we had…Sam's naturally going to get jealous because, believe it or not, men like to think the women their dating never dated before. They want to believe their first ones that touched them. The first ones that kissed them…it's supposed to be magical for them in some way and I understand that. If I let it slip about something to Raph, he's going to get hurt too. You can only do one thing."

"What's that?" Lily asked softly, listening to Matt's words.

Matt paused in her cutting to comb out the strands. "Be a woman." She replied gently to her. "And let it go. Yes, it meant something in the past. But you're getting married." She nodded to her left hand. "If he truly and utterly loves you, then he would have faith in you. He would trust you. Certainly you told him you had stray cats right? That's all you have to tell him and let him draw up his own conclusions. If he's a man, he won't be caught up in the past."

"And the best part," She continued as she let down one of the hair pieces and combed it before parting it again and attaching it to her head, "Is reminding him that he's loved. That he's the here and now. That is the only way you can solve this. Remind him you had flings and remind him that he's important to the here and now stage and stand back and watch." She summarized as she started the cutting again.

Lily smiled gently as she thought about ways to go about this new plan, "Thank you, Matt. Your advice helps a lot." She waited until Matt was away from her hair before asking, "Wanna hear what else? This is a treat for you, by the way…"

"What's that?" Matt asked as she rummaged for another clip since one fell to the floor.

Lily bit her lip, "Weeellllll…This morning there were waffles, and one type was strawberry. Nao and Sam fought for them, and Sam threw a fit when Nao won," she smirked, "Nao said 'Don't get your balls in a pinch, that's Matt's job.'"

Matt nearly dropped the second clip and blushed wildly. She was actually quite pleased. "I should thank Nao for that." She said with a grin. "Too bad I wasn't there." She sighed. "Ellie makes a damn good breakfast. I wonder if she'll ever convince Rae or Frances to cook. Now Frances would be a treat. Rae makes damn good Italian. I wonder if Mikey will ever get his chance, I never had his cooking before." She murmured as she found the clip and re-parted Lily's hair and continued her work. Her ramblings were trying to hide both her embarrassment and her pleasure.

"Mikey makes amazing scrambled eggs," Lily laughed gently and grinned, "I bet you're going to have plenty of plans to execute tonight, eh?" she teased.

"Loads of them," Matt said with a pleased smile, "I'm glad you told me all of this Lily-chan."

"You're quite welcome, Matt-chan," Lily answered happily.


	5. Neutral Zone

Neutral Zone

Meg got done with her customer and happily swept the floor, the chair, made sure everything was neatly categorized. She washed the scissors, put the used combs in the washing sink near the washers and dryers in the back and bounced up to the counter to look at the notebook.

"So, whose the walk in I'm taking? I'm Megan by the way." She said with a chirp. She was wearing stripped knee high socks, red moccasins and pants and shirt was black. Her hair was tied up in a high braid. Ponytail first and then braided down to her shoulders. It was quite obvious that if her hair was down it would be starting to reach her butt.

Nao looked at Michelangelo and gave him a temporary parting hug before stepping up, "How about me, Megan?" she asked politely.

"Oh wow!" She gushed, "Look at your hair!" She ran over and fingered it lightly, "And how abused! Come!" She guided Nao to the back to start washing her hair, knowing that it was going to take a few minutes since not only was it bad, it was also very, very long. Gorgeously long.

Nao tried to come up with a good explanation, not sure if Matt's friends knew about…everything. "I had a run-in with the fireplace, that's why it is so burnt," she said first, "A friend likes to experiment with sharp things in his sleep, and I didn't dodge fast enough…" _'Ok…number two reason is lame, utterly lame, but hopefully she believes it…'_ she thought.

"You must be talking about Sam." Megan said with an eye roll. "Silly boy, I swear I think they like to play with matches too much. I heard about the fire. I swear, Trevor had Lisa scared witless. His hair was burned pretty badly and I had to trim it up for him. I'm guessing you lived in the same apartment complex? Also sharp things? Darling, it looks like you tried to cut your own hair!" She fingered the edges again as she brought Nao up and started toweling her hair, bringing her to the table.

"I would never try and cut my own hair...Actually this is my first cut in years. The split ends can tell you that," Nao smiled sheepishly, "I trust you wholly," she added.

"That's good." Megan said with a smile. "Matt is really, really hard on her employers. We have to be good." She said as she looked at the hair. "Therefore, how short do you want it? To your waist like you said or have you found something while looking through the magazines?"

"To my waist, if you please," Nao smiled at her, "I still want to try a layered look…Ah, a warning, as you cut shorter it get a lot more wavy."

"Gotcha," Megan nodded as she rummaged through her drawers. She took out a ponytail holder and tied up Nao's hair, slowly inching it down towards the desired measurement and a few inches more before she took the scissors. "Ready?" She asked.

Nao decided to close her eyes, "Cut away…"

Megan cut the ponytail and grabbed it before it could fall. She set it in Nao's lap. "In case you want to keep it." She gently said a she started coming out the hair and parting it, and bringing it up to loosely clip it to her head. Then she started sipping.

With a sigh, Amber cleaned up her workspace and while drying her hands she walked out into the lobby and looked at the notebook. She ran a hand through her jet-black spiked hair that had neon colors decorating the tips and random strands, but all in all it looked very nice, "Alright, Who's the one who wants to escape but can't?" she smirked and straightened her blue shirt that had loads of neon colored peace signs all over it. Her pants were black also decorated with peace signs, and her boots were simple but stylish black leather going up to her knees.

Leonardo sighed as he stood up, "That would be me." He said as he ran his hands through his hair, "Just a trim."

"Right, right, come along then, mate," Amber smiled with her rich Australian accent, "The name's Amber, and you're Leonardo?" she asked leading him to a chair that was neon blue.

"Err…yes," Leo said as he watched her. If Matt found these people then it was a wonder of what method the girl used. He was going to have to ask her later if she ever got back to Fireside. "You're originally from Australia? Or is your family from there?"

"What a lucky lad you are," Amber grinned hugely and plopped him down, "Got it right on the mark, I'm from Australia, that I am. Heh, the Outback's not for everyone, though. It liked me and I liked it, but sadly one needs a life so I jumped a ship and came 'ere, where Mattie found me, the good ol' chap," she giggled and whisked out a razor, twirling it, "Mm…I 'ear you're quite the one with the katana, am I right?"

"I am." Leo agreed, fascinated. _'I bet Rae had a hard time trying to get Matt to leave the stray cats and dogs alone…it explains a lot…I thought Andrew had been the first find. Suppose not.'_ "I'm surprised you knew that. Then again, Matt can't really keep things quiet can she?"

"I heard that Leonardo Hamato," Matt called from her station and some of the co-workers started laughing.

Amber laughed and patted his shoulder, whirling a cape over him, "Hamato? Good ol' Master Yoshi Hamato?" she asked, orange eyes sparkling, "I 'eard about 'im. So you're a descendant?" she ran a hand through his hair, mouth twitching, before she moved things and lifted up the table, a sink to wash hair set underneath where the others had to move. She spun him around and lowered him down, taking out shampoo and conditioner, "Don't worry your pretty 'lil' head, it's not flowery or fruity," she added seeing his expression at the purple container.

"Yeah. You don't sound surprised and how do you know him?" Leo asked curiously. Didn't Raph tell him about some gamer nerd knowing about the Hamatos as well as some athletic in NYU? He had to wonder when that became common knowledge or if always had been.

"I do my research, mate," Amber smiled, "I have a buddy named Marco and he told me he met a Hamato some time ago. Bros?" she wondered.

"There's four of us," Leo said. Marco…so that must have been the person who Raphael ran into. He wondered what kind of kid he was, "The one that's waiting is my youngest brother, Mikey. The one that you're friend must have met was Raph." Leo continued. "He's the second oldest. I'm the eldest one."

"Really? Renaissance names…fascinating," Amber finished washing his hair and put everything back, drying it just enough his cloths wouldn't get soaked. She then took the razor and started cutting and styling it at the same time, "Michelangelo looks a bit out of place compared to you and Marco's description of Raphael. Different parent in the line?" she asked gently.

"Good question," Leo murmured, "I don't even know the answer to that one."

"Mm…" Amber mused and twirled the razor, skimming it under the water to clean it quickly before whirling around to his other side, "I'm an only child, so I don't quite understand your position, but I have plenty of friends who tell me all about their troubles. So, mate, what it is like being eldest?" she asked and ruffled his hair, looked at it, and then went back to work.

"Difficult." Leo sighed. "But rewarding too," He smiled. "You would probably pull your hair out in frustration but you probably can't imagine a life without it." He explained it to her, "It's like that."

Amber laughed and nodded, "Gotcha," she smiled and set the razor down but before he could shift thinking she was done, she made a swipe for something, attempting to be faster than he could see, "I've had some martial art training myself," she smirked at his frown. She stayed out of his line of sight and put something in her hands, rubbed them together, and then massaged his scalp at the same time applying what she had grabbed, "You're Blue, aren't you lad? Raph's Red, Mikey is Orange, and the missing one, Donatello, is Purple, right?" she asked in a more hushed tone.

"How do you know about that?" Leo asked as he tensed up. Dragons called them that back when they were turtles. Surely Marco didn't know that much. Did he?

"Hush now," Amber smirked, "It's alright. However, you're not the only one who comes 'ere for touch ups. This is a Neutral Zone, Leonardo. We 'ear damn near everything. I've 'ad Kuroi more often than not," she admitted shuddering.

"Ah." Leo said, relaxing. "I understand." He had been scared for a minute, but was okay. Matt would have had enemies come in here, she was an informer and what else was a good place to get goods on something besides running a salon? It started to occur to him of why Rae didn't press for much...they all worked in places where they would hear things. Andrew treated gangsters, police officers and the likes and hearing them gossip and say things while drugged and Matt…she didn't have to say a word, the customers would just start talking and she would just ask her employers about what they talked about, pretending to be curious…well…curiosity was her natural trait.

Amber smiled and worked for an extra minute before taking the blow dryer and finishing up. "Shaggy, like I'm sure your lass likes it, but it's also stylish," she winked and pointed at the mirror, "Turn your 'ead 'ere and there, you'll see what I used. It'll fade after a while, but should last until after the Finale."

He did what he was told and smiled. It looked awesome. It was blue dye that didn't show up unless the light it hit just right and the way he turned his head was correct. "I like this." He told her with a smile, "I hope it lasts too."

Amber got out her broom and leaned on it, the bristles hiding her face and mouth, "May…I request something of you, for you are the leader of your brothers?"

"Sure," Leo said softly, "What is it?"

"I've never got to use my self-training from being in the Outback, and the Martial Arts I endured. I want to _fight_, Leo, choudai?" Amber frowned, "I may not be of much use, but I could do something, ya know? I just feel useless, being here, listening to other's adventures where I've had none…" She waved her hand, "You don't have to decide now, of course, but think about it?"

"I'll ask Ian," Leo said gently, "And I'll come find you when we decide. We do need more people to help."

Amber grinned and twirled the broom, "Yeah, I've never been one to like staying one place for very long. This place is great, but just a tad boring, ya know?" she raised an eyebrow, half continuing the discussion but also throwing off suspicion.

Leo smiled, "I understand." He said gently. "Like I said, I'll talk to Ian." He said to her. "And we'll go from there."

Amber shrugged and batted his butt when he got off the cape, "Enjoy your new look, mate…Ooi! Send your 'lil' bro in here; he looks like he's in dire need of entertainment."

Brianna clapped as she saw Leonardo's hair, "Lookin' hott, my man!" she winked, "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No it wasn't." Leo agreed as he watched his brother get ready. Matt and Meg were still doing the girl's hair, snipping, more snipping, they were working hard at it. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling it. It was nice. "I'm guessing your turn is up." He said as he watched one of the boys walk up to the register to ring up the customer he had served.

He looked nice, with a black shirt that was tucked in and his slacks were nice and unwrinkled. He took a lot, a lot of care in what he looked like. "Who's next?" He asked, his voice was surprisingly deep.

"Uh, I am," Bria smiled and hugged Leo before going up to the guy.

Phillip took one look at her and started writing something down, "Nice to meet you." He said as he put the pen down. "My name is Phillip and I'll be your hairdresser for the day. Come with me to the wash section and then we'll get started on the cut you want. What is it again?"

"Do whatever you need," Bria shrugged, "I'd like it to stay passed my shoulders though, if possible." She followed him to the washing stations and sat in the chair he directed her to.

He pushed her to the sink and started washing it, he was silent while he was doing it, since he never saw the point in talking while the person was under the water. Once he was done washing her hair he toweled it dry and dragged her back to his station and sat her down. "You're going to need a trim." He told her, "You have nice curls; it would be shame to layer it. I can enhance the curls though, so they don't look so butchered."

"That would be interesting," Brianna smiled, "Go right ahead."

Michelangelo listened to Amber talk about Australia and where it was and what it was like. Also he listened about her travels on the ship. It was like a storybook fairy-tale only it had more interesting details than not. Still, through her words and her calm presence he felt…a lingering of doubt. It was unnoticeable until her voice changed to sadness or when she started talking to him about his family. It wasn't anything for him to worry about. She was a good person to talk to. It wasn't as if he had talked to a lot of people besides Fireside and his brothers.

"You're hair is really soft, mate, like the tuffs of fur on at the back of cat's ears," Amber commented as she washed it and then dried it and took out her razor, "I like your eyes, too. You look like you're part Siamese or something, with how your eyes are so blue and the way your face is shaped," she smiled at him.

"Thanks." Mikey said with a grin. "I think that's the same type that Nao is. I don't know though, I'll ask her next time I think of it." He said. "I have the same cat's blood she has."

"Do ya now?" Amber smiled and started trimming it, "What does your lassie prefer? Shaggy? Wild? Spiked?" she listed off a bunch of styles.

"Wild and spiky…It can't hurt to experiment." Mikey said with a smile. "Actually, spiky all around is better than wild…I don't want it to go well…weird." He shook his head and grinned.

Amber nodded and started her work, "You look like a lazy when you can but otherwise active person," she chuckled at the way he was completely relaxed in the neon orange chair he was in with the bright yellow cape.

"Yeah…" Michelangelo nodded. "I mostly like being lazy, but I do things too. Mainly skating…Skateboards, skates…etc." He watched her hands move, measure, and snip in one fluid motion.

Amber grinned as a particular song she liked came on and she giggled as she started moving to it, "Telephone by Lady GaGa…oh yeah!" she washed off the razor and jumped back to him and his hair as the song really started going.

"You like dance music too?" Michelangelo asked curiously.

Snip, snip, wrist twist and swipe, snip, and she twirled while repeating the action, "You bet, mate!" she laughed and easily flowed her work with the song, "Stop calling, Stop callin, I don't wanna think anymore…" Amber sang along softly.

Mikey closed his eyes as he listened to her sing. "You have a good voice." He told her with a smile, his eyes still closed as he followed the radio's song.

Near the last minute of the song Amber pranced over to her table and whirled back, putting an orange die in her hands and then worked it into his hair, laughing softly as he started a gentle purr. She made sure it was all in before grabbing the blow dryer and finishing up, "There ya are! I added more to yours than I did Leo's, but like I said, it will probably only last until the end of the Finale," she smiled.

"No prob, Mikey. I'll give the red and purple dyes for Matt to use on your Bros, 'kay?" Amber smiled, "Because I'm sure your lassie won't be able to keep her hands off of you with that new look," she gave him a thumbs up.

"I hope so," Mikey laughed gently and winked at her, "Don't forget to."

Amber shook her head, "Not a chance!" she waved him off, "Have a great day, Mikey!" she went to her broom and started cleaning her workspace.


	6. Hot and Bothered

Hot and Bothered

Frances and Donatello were watching one another. They had trained (not together) and barely said a word to one another. Neither of them had an idea of what to say to one another. It was quite obvious one was a genius and the other wasn't and the limited conversations they did have only lasted five seconds. Frances could see why Lily would love Don, there was something about him that was nice, but at the same time, he was blind to know what drove Lily to that edge. Then again, Lily liked playing with electrical things, including Electric and Frances stayed away from anything besides a pen, paper, and common knowledge. Still, he just didn't understand Don and when he did, it was only a short-lived victory.

Don on the other hand couldn't understand Frances. He understood how Lily and him would become siblings, they were the only "human-nekos" they knew. Frances didn't have a memory and Lily remembered. Frances easily could become a new Matt, but even he didn't know the girl very well. Andrew was probably the only one besides Ian and Nicky he could hold a unbound and limitless conversation with. When he tried getting Frances into a conversation, all he received in return was blank stares and confusion. And when Frances started to understand what he was talking about, he turned a 360 and went back to being confused again. Sometimes it sucked being a genius.

There was a deliberate creak and the door opened op, showing Lily first, the others behind her. With a blush, she ran a hand through her newly cut and styled hair, stepping aside to let the others through. She had been thinking of several ways to go through with her plan, but only one stuck in her head. She set the few bags she had on the table and stepped back; looking at the two she cared for considerably, though for one more than the other, "Fran? Could you come here?" she asked.

"Sure," Frances said as he stood up from his place on the floor and walked over to her. His eyes were showing concern and worry, "I like your new hair style, its awesome looking. It's Matt's work isn't it?"

Lily nodded, "That it is…" she bit her lip and leaned up on her toes, whispering in his ear, "I love you, Fran, but I don't love you enough to be _like that_ unless something happens to Don. Do you understand? Please…" she nuzzled his neck, "I want you to be my brother, but it's difficult when you still have a crush over me. Can you drop that, for me? Try and find another? If you can't bring yourself to do that, and like me too much, then I get it…but keep it to yourself, and hide it especially around Don? When he's not around, you can be as affectionate as you want," she offered.

Frances sighed and tweaked Lily's ear. "I don't know what Matt said, but that was a year go. I know when I lost. I lost in this case, sister of mine. I'll still be affectionate, that'll never change." He smiled at her. "I'm not stupid, Lily. I'm not going to force you to do anything and he can't do that either. Love him as much as you can."

Lily smiled and rubbed his ear, "I'll honor that with one last kiss," she tilted her head and caught his mouth with hers.

Frances pressed back to show he understood but didn't make it too long. He pulled away after about 5 seconds and smiled at her. "You shouldn't have done that, because now you have Don to answer to. He just saw that sweets," He ruffled her hair and decided to leave upstairs.

_'I know exactly what I was doing,'_ Lily thought and looked at Donatello.

Feeling his chest hurt, Don didn't want to see it so he was just about to get up and leave the room as well.

Lily took several strides over to Don and gripped his wrist firmly, yanking him around and as he was turning, she grabbed his face in her hands and didn't even wait for permission before she kissed him deeply. Dragging him to the stairs with her walking backwards, she growled possessively, "You…" another kiss, "Are the one…" she went up a step and swirled the Wind around them, "I want, Donatello." She teleported them and pushed him vigorously onto the bed, "You are mine. I am yours. **Forever**," she stated firmly.

Donny smiled faintly at her. "I never doubted that." He told her sincerely, "Forever." He said as he dragged her back into bed.

Bria rubbed her chin, "Well…that was quite the show,"' she smiled as Matt shut the door.

Matt laughed and shrugged, "I guess I should have told Lily that Frances did have a girlfriend." She smiled as she looked up the stairs where Lily had dragged Don. "But, you know, I think they both needed some closure. Thank god Frances had the guts to just say he lost and didn't point out anything else."

Nao ran a hand through her hair, grinning, "Matt, didn't Amber give you something to use on Raph and Don? I think Raph's at least still down here…"

"She did." Matt said with a smile as she fingered the dyes in her pocket. "I'll search for him." She smiled at Nao. "See ya." She replied as she ran off to find Raph.

Nao grinned and reached up to finger Mikey's hair, "How about we follow Don and Lily's example?" she asked, eager to feel his hands run through her hair and return the favor.

Mikey smirked, "I'm all in for that." He said as he gently brought his mouth upon hers and felt her teleport them to their room.

"What about you, Lionheart?" Brianna nudged Leo.

Leonardo didn't have to say anything as he too kissed her and skimmed his fingers across her neck. He pulled away and murmured on a hot breath, "I'm also all in for it."

Bria blushed hotly and took his hand giggling as she tugged them up to their room and shut the door.

Raphael scratched his head as he was following Matt toward the kitchen where she needed to do his hair, "Well then, this is quite the interesting night."

"Everyone's off and ready to have their own fun." Matt pouted as she grabbed a chair from the dinning room and dragged it to the kitchen sink that she had washed and put the dishes in the other sink. "I don't know why, but I suppose somehow the fumes got them all…high-strung and desirable today." She sighed. "Then again, I shouldn't blame them. Who knows when the next time they'll get alone time will be?"

Raph chuckled and watched her, "So, what's the bottle or is it a surprise for after my trim? Are you going to catch Rae, too?"

"Most likely not." Matt said with a smile. "I'll save that for after she has the kit. I'm a little nervous about having her around in a Salon or even near the kitchen while I'm doing this, which is why I found her first and told her not to come in. And what's in the bottle is a surprise after I cut your hair."

Raphael shrugged and waited, "I saw what Mikey and Leo had…I'd like it spiky and wild but, maybe if it's possible, styled like fire has its waves?"

"Simple." Matt said with a smile as she finished washing his hair and pulled him away from the sink. She had to make-do by using a dish towel to dry his hair, but luckily had the foresight to run into the bathroom after finding Rae and stealing one of the towels from in there. She wrapped it around him and made him look a certain direction. "You know, this is possibly the first one on one conversation we've had."

"You're right," Raph smirked, "It is. It's rather nice, to be honest...Mm, did anyone tell you about what Nao said this morning?"

Matt grinned, "Yeah. Lily told me." She grinned. "I'm guessing you have no idea what to say to start a conversation?" She teased as she started sipping.

"Not really…but Sam's been pouting up on the roof even though there's supposed to be a blizzard tonight," Raphael informed her.

"Oh geez," Matt rolled her eyes, "Drama king, drama king. I'll go and drag his ass down the chimney after I do your hair." She said with a smile as she continued to work on it. "Don't make soot go everywhere, though," Raph chuckled, "Are you going to have your way with him to make him happy?" he asked, "I'm sure what Lily told you gave you some ideas."

"Don't make soot go everywhere, though," Raph chuckled, "Are you going to have your way with him to make him happy?" he asked, "I'm sure what Lily told you gave you some ideas."

"Eh." Matt shrugged. "That depends on what happens while I'm up at the roof." She smiled. "What about you? Surely you had your fill during your wedding evening." She teased. "You're going to wear her down poor thing."

"I would never do anything she didn't want," Raph scratched his cheek with a blush.

Matt rolled her eyes playfully, "But you're still going to try."

Raphael chuckled, "Yeah…I am," he admitted.

Matt grinned widely as she finished up the last piece of the cut. "You're going to wind up giving her twins, if you haven't already." She gently started dying the hair and streaking it after she had blow dried Raphael's hair, humming a song under her breath as she did her work. "And…" She undid the towel sat down the counter. "You're done." She grinned.

Raph stood up and went to the kitchen mirror, "Whoa…absolutely fantastic, Matt! Thank you!" he ran his hand through it and saw the red shiny dye, "Sweet…" he went over to her and hugged her, "Thank you!" He patted her shoulder and winked, "Go take care of your guy now, before he catches ill," he laughed and went off to find Rae.

Matt rolled her eyes before deciding just to do that. She jumped off the counter and ran up the three flights of stairs and got to the door at the end of the hallway. She opened it and stared. True to Raphael's word, Sam was sitting on the edge. "Oh Jesus," She muttered as she walked up to him. "I can push you off the ledge you know. You're right on it."

"And I'm sure you wouldn't do that." Sam retorted as he looked over at her. He couldn't believe what Nao had said to everyone. That was _her_ job? He glowered at her, hoping that she would somehow catch on fire.

It wasn't working. "You know, you make a good puppy dog." Matt replied as she sat down. "Why are you so upset? It was just an expression. I'm sure I could pinch your balls if you just asked, but since you didn't…"

"She meant it literally Matt and me and you both know that she knows we did it before." He turned away.

"Everyone knows we had sex you moron." Matt sweatdropped. "All of us planned that strip contest, remember?"

Then she paused. "Oh I get it."

"What do you get?" Sam asked.

"You're upset because we only did it once and I dominated you!" Matt replied gleefully.

Sam just gave her a deadpanned look, "And your point?"

"Well, I'm saying you're jealous," Matt responded.

The fire-starter rolled his eyes and turned back to face the abandon buildings that covered most of the alleyways. A few of Fireside's gang members were switching posts, reporting what they knew and getting ready to go back to the warm houses, not wanting to stay a minute longer in the winter's coming storm, "What if I told you I'm not?"

"Then something's wrong with you," Matt replied, "Because I know that look. It's the "I'm jealous" look. Everyone else is off going on in their own little worlds."

"You're starting to tick me off, Matt," Sam replied as he stood up and faced her. The look had changed but it didn't scare her. For some odd reason, she anticipated for what the look could bring.

"Oh really?" She purred teasingly as she backed up to give him room to move off the ledge, "How badly?"

He moved so fast not even Matt had a chance to do anything. They tumbled to the ground and he pinned her down, one hand to her throat and the other to her wrists that were pinned upward, "This badly."

"You won't do anything," Matt said, trusting and certain, "Beca-" He let her throat go and crashed their lips together before she had a chance to say anything.

He pulled away and quickly teleported them to his room where he crashed her against the wall. She deserved the rough treatment after all.


	7. Danger

Danger

The next night, Frances came back to the hide out looking grim. Andrew had taken the day shift that day, so he was hanging around the living room with Matt and everyone else. "Rae…" He said with a bit of his lip, "We have company."

"Who?" Rachel asked, not liking the look on Frances' face, "Is it for me or for Ian?"

"It…ah…why don't the Informers meet in there," Frances said as he glanced over at the private living room. "And I can lead them in, not that they need it. It's Lightening Force and Jason brought three people with him."

Andrew, Matt, and Rachel exchanged a look with one another before they stood up and made their way to the private living room. "This isn't good," Andrew muttered as he took his spot behind the couch. Matt and Rae both decided to sit down on the couch and stayed silent. No, this wasn't good.

They didn't have to wait long. Frances brought them in almost immediately. Jason looked ragged and restless, carrying folders and envelopes. The three men behind him were armed, obviously from the way they stood and the way they shifted. "Evening," He said as he went to the couch facing to them. The three stood behind, positioned and waiting.

"Since you're not saying it's good, I can presume you're not here on pleasure." Rachel replied her voice turning cold and emotionless. "And judging from the way you brought three guards instead of the usual two, I can also assume that this…is a dangerous mission."

"They're dangerous times, Lynx." He tossed the two envelopes and one folder on the table. He leaned back and propped his feet onto the coffee table, "Too dangerous for me to just wait by and wait for you anymore. I want a hunt and I want the quarry."

Gabriella had heard the happenings from the stairs and barely stopped Raphael from going down. Now they were safe from being caught, she lead him silently towards the training room and started climbing the rafters, "Hurry up, or we'll miss the talk!" she called softly to Raph.

Raph only nodded and climbed up as well, crawling through the narrow passageways and she finally paused, opening a window at the end of the passage which looked at an angle over the entire private room, "We can see them but they can't see is," she explained in a whisper.

"The whole underground and the Foot," Jason said with a growl. "I want to know every gang, underground or rising stars. I want to know their allies, their allies allies and their enemies and their enemies enemies." He said. "I'm asking a lot."

"Indeed you are. You're paranoia knows no limits." Rachel replied coldly. "You're asking me and not only myself and of my team a hard mission."

"Are you saying the gay girl and the wuss can't handle the job and neither can you since you're carrying a burden?" One of the guards asked.

Raph clenched his jaw and balled his fists together, _'A burden?'_ he thought angrily.

The guard suddenly went still and his eyes went wide. Rachel grinned as if she was the one that was causing it, but when Andrew narrowed his eyes, the guard suddenly grabbed the gun and pointed it. Not at the Informers, at himself. "I wouldn't shoot that if I were you," She said in a coaxing manner, "Not when your mind is being inflicted by images and when you're under the influence. I wonder what images my Matthew is giving you and I wonder if Andrew is making you think you're suicidal. After all, one controls the mind and the other the emotions behind it. If I so wished, I could join in the fun too. I bet the only reason why you can hear me is because these two are being nice. I wouldn't want them to kill you in front of your boss, but I do warn you to take care of words…otherwise I might kill you and pay for your stupidity."

Jason snickered, "And I would let her too. Tell your men to let him go." He said with a wave, "I can deal with him at a better time. He's a rookie."

"New and ignorant," Rachel agreed as she did a wave and the guard suddenly went lax, dropping the gun and going to his knees. The other two didn't even move, but they were smirking, "I suppose me killing him would be quite cold, now wouldn't it?"

"You killing him would be." Jason said with a smirk. "But I would think of it as an honor, since not very many men gets to have their last sights on a beautiful woman."

"You flatter me," Rachel said as she sat up a little straighter. "I miss talking with you sometimes." She looked at the folders that were lying on the table, "What do you two think? Shall we accept the mission for all it's worth?"

"How much?" Andrew asked as he cocked his head to the side. His voice was also a little cold, "I am not doing this for free or for cheap prices."

"Neither am I," Matt replied, but her voice had a hint of anger from the insult the guard had given him.

Jason grinned widely, "I'm being generous. I'm letting you three name your price tonight."

"Hmm…" Rachel looked over at Andrew and Matt and they looked as if they had an idea of what price to name. She looked back at Jason and crossed her legs, "Matt? What price shall we name?"

"Thirty thousand in advance and seventy thousand each," Matt responded.

"Does that sound fair Jason or do you want to bargain?" Rachel grinned.

"Thirty thousand in advance and fifty thousand each," He replied.

"That's twenty thousand lower than the original price. It's almost like you're cheating us." Andrew replied with an eye roll, "Sixty thousand each."

"Fifty five," Jason retorted.

"I can actually live with that price," Matt said with a smile.

Rachel smiled, "Deal. Now then, what are these?" She asked as she gestured on the table.

"The folder will have to come last I'm afraid. The two envelopes on the other hand," He said with a smile. "One of them is blank checks for me to fill out and the other one, well; let's just say I know how you are." He said with a smile at her, "Those are lists of resources you can use. Black Market sellers, for your poisons and antidotes and of course any weapons or supplies you might need."

"A hefty list," Rachel said as she reached for the envelope and flipped it. "Ah, and there's also a list of people that work for you and where we can track them down, along with a map of the gangs nearby, possible enemies, possible allies…you did your research before coming to us. You just made our lives a little easier Jason darling." She said grinning wildly, "Aww, you even provided phone numbers to some of the gang leaders!"

"That you should thank Frances for that," Jason replied as he folded his arms around his head, "He's quite useful when he's not being cheeky."

Rachel laughed warmly, "Well, Frances is Frances. He's going to be cheeky no matter what anyone says."

Jason nodded a few times before taking his feet off the table. "What ever happened to washing your hands of this anyway? Couldn't name an heir?"

"Random question?" Rachel asked, surprised. "It's not that I couldn't name an heir, it's just that I didn't want to. I suppose in the end, the streets screams for me. It feels…so very out of place, even though I'm married and going to have a family."

"That's what it's like when you live on the streets since fifteen. Nothing can change that. Just don't run from what you got." Jason assured her. "You don't know how lucky you are, it will take me a lot more than a year or so than to get someone to marry me and know everything."

"I bet so," The guard that they had taken down replied. He had managed to stand up and just glare at them. Now that he knew what they could do…well…it didn't matter anymore, "Does your husband know everything?"

"Why you suddenly are taking an interest to a life that's not yours I don't understand." Rachel said with narrowed eyes, "I won't respond to that answer."

"Because you haven't right?" The guard sneered.

Jason glared at him. "I brought you here to understand how the Informers work. If you keep this up-"

"Please," Andrew said, too calm for anyone's comfort, "Allow me." He suddenly disappeared and reappeared and pressed his fingers against the lower back of the guard. "I don't have speed, that's just another trick that Matt used. She is a mind-master, the eyes are no different. As for me, I'm a doctor; the body is something I'm familiar with. I know how to use it and abuse it without a worry. Since you're being too loud, I suppose I'll silence you." He jabbed all of the pressure points that brought he guard to his knees and while he jabbed them he had used a little bit of his power to influence him to become "numbed and stunned".

"If you can get out of this trap, then we can assume you're too dangerous and if Jason wants to pay a little extra…well…I'm sure you got the picture even without Matt's help, don't you?" He grinned at the guard's angered yet frightened face.

"Andy's handling this very well…" Gabriella whispered smiling to herself.

Rachel rolled her eyes at Andrew, "Careful now, you might give the boy a heart attack." She looked over at Jason and smiled. "I'm supposing you're done with business now? Going to leave me and my team to our lonesome?"

"Not quite. Now you can look about that folder you were about to pick up earlier." Jason said with a smile, "It's meant as a treat, not as a bribe."

"Oh?" She asked as she raised her eyebrow as she opened up the file. Her eyes blinked a few times. "You want me to re-work here?" She asked, "You know that I would love to-"

"Non-smoking sections only until the babe is born." Jason told her gently, "You get the same pay you left with and, of course, the same hours you enjoy. You're going to want to start getting back to socialization and since drunkards are so easy to talk to, why not a lounge?"

"You really did think of everything. I'll consider it," Rachel said gently to him.

"It is all I wanted to hear," He smiled at her as he stood up, "Now, my business has concluded." He turned to his guards and pointed at the one on the floor. "Pick him up for me." He told them. They obeyed and they made sure to shove him around as if he was too heavy for them and dropped him a few times out of playfulness before they really did pick him up. Jason went over and kissed Matt's hand, shook Andrew's and hugged Rae's and gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek and a brush of the lips. "We'll come by again."

"Services are always open," Rachel responded. She waited until the door shut and she laid down and rested her head on Matt's lap.

Andrew frowned, "I'm going to out into the living room." He said, "To clear off anyone who wants to know what happened."

"That will be good," Rachel sighed.

Matt folded her legs as she played with Rae's hair, "Carrying a burden. That just ticked me off so much." She huffed, "And a gay girl?" She scoffed. "That boy needs his tongue cut out."


	8. Influence

Influence

Andrew chuckled before leaving the living room to make good on his word and ward off curiosity. He sighed to himself. That was even worse than work at the hospital.

Gabriella closed the vent and lead Raph around the bend and they climbed back down the rafters. She helped dust him off and he let her do the same with her. "Well…Now we have an idea of what's going to happen next."

"Yeah…I'm going to go check on Rae. I _really_ didn't like that comment," Raphael growled and ruffled her hair before walking off.

Ella sighed and also walked out of the training room, "Andy," she grinned and bounced over to him, fingering his scar because his sweatshirt was too low.

"Hm?" Andrew asked as his skin shuddered, "Hey Ella." He said with a smile. He gently brought her into his arms and gave her a hug, "What's up?"

"What do your powers of emotion for?" Ella couldn't help asking and she peeked up at him.

"What do I use them for? Mainly to calm patients," Andrew replied as he watched her. "You saw the meeting didn't you Ella?" He sighed. "I bet you brought someone with you…as long as you keep it secret, it doesn't matter. If it's any help…I never, ever influenced you or Bria to love me." He turned to her, "I did however make you feel a little hotter." He smiled. "That's a confession."

Ella ran her hand along his side and rested it on his hip, looking at him slyly, "Show me what you can _really_ do," she purred as she nuzzled his neck.

"You're going to have to provide transport love," Andrew murmured again her ear, "I can't very well carry you and not make a scene of it."

Ella grinned and did as she was asked. She made sure their door was locked before looking at him, "Well, Aleksey?"

Andrew grinned as he led her to the bed and kissed her hungrily. He touched her, letting her feel the way he felt. The best thing about being about to influence was also being about to transfer emotions.

Ella gasped and wound her fingers in his hair, "Do be nice on me, I want to know what I've got in my hands," she rumbled sexily.

"I'm not playing nice. I'm just giving you a hint." He murmured against her skin as his fingers easily took off her clothing. It was like a dance, perfect and timed. "To be influenced, Ella, you can't know about it. I'm not going to tell you every little emotion I'm putting you through."

"I get it," Ella blushed and shuddered as his skin passed over hers, and she also got rid of his top at least, unable to reach his pants.

Andrew closed his eyes as he gently kissed her neck. He let her feel aroused, all from experiences that he had. He kissed her breasts and played with them, all the while concentrating on the hotness and the feelings one went through while sexually ready.

Gabriella arched her back, gasping out; "Oh!" she groaned and gripped the sheets. Hot…so very, very hot…it felt like the hottest day of summer, only inside her body. Her mind was blank, white flames blinded her vision, "Oh god!" she tossed her head from side to side, whimpering and biting her lip.

He decided to slow it down. He ran his hands down her side, he stopped using his power. The body could only take on so much. It was the reason why too much stress, anger, sadness, and even happiness lead to a broken life. Pleasure, though an emotion that one couldn't get too much of, was the same way. Also he didn't want her to release yet. He leaned over and kissed her neck, sucking on it and gazing it with his teeth, kissing his way down to her breasts again.

Ella tilted her head to give him more access, and shuddered, "Aleksey…" she moaned but then grunted, "Your…stupid pants are…scratching my leg…" she sighed and arched her back again when he moved his hands just right.

Andrew smirked as he gently pulled away and took them off, letting her have a show as they slid off. He pushed them off of the bed and onto the floor with a clang and started kissing her again gently before giving her rough sucks. "Happy?" He asked huskily.

"Yes," Ella purred and fingered his hair, "Very," she hooked her leg with his, enjoying the new yet familiar sensations. He had heightened her senses somehow, got her to the brink, and now was doing foreplay, "You're amazing…" she murmured on a moan.

"I would like to think so." He murmured teasingly. "You're very incredible yourself." He was sincere. He lowered himself down to her core and gently sucked there before putting two fingers inside of her. He knew she could handle him without it, but it was still fun. Too fun. He pumped his hand slowly, letting her feel the sensations.

Gabriella rolled her hips, "Uh…" she whimpered, grabbing the pillows behind her, "A-Aleksey…good lord...I love your torture…" she growled lowly, but though she loved it, he had heightened her so much that it was super difficult to handle.

Andrew smiled as he gently pulled away and kissed her heatedly as he aligned their hips together and slowly, ever so slowly pushed in. He thrust his hips in the slowest motion he could.

Ella was thrown off the edge of the cliff and cried out shuddering and gripping his shoulders, "Aleksey!" she breathed heavily and rocked her hips, throwing her head back, "F-Faster, please!" her body felt like it was on hyper-drive and she needed more, need him to join her to satisfy her.

He complied, speeding up his thrusts. He shifted, trying to hit her sweet-spot. He wanted her to come with him, wanted her to be with him, "Come on Ella. Don't hold back."

Ella whimpered and let her body go, "I-I'm…s-so sensitive…I d-don't...want to…leave you…b-behind…" she whimpered, "Y-You…f-first…"

He let himself go. His thrusts went harder, deeper and faster. He let himself feel what she was feeling, taking in some of her sensitivity. It was such a good thing at times, to be a skilled at empathy. "Together," He growled lowly, "We go together."

Gabriella couldn't deny his command. She cried out in ultimate please and felt her climax mingle with his, "Oh god...I'm...Al...ALEKSEY!" she moaned/screamed.

"GABRIELLA!" He growled/shouted as he felt himself burst inside of her. He rolled off of her and brought her up against him, letting her listen to his heartbeat and listening to her ragged breathing, "I love you." He said into her brown hair, "I love you so much."

Ella panted and slowly it went back to normal. She licked her dry lips and kissed his chest up to his mouth, kissing him tenderly, "I love you, too, my darling," she nuzzled his neck, "Thank you so much." she listened to his hart, tracing his scars absently.

"Any time," Andrew replied softly, breathlessly, "Any time."


	9. Road of Dreams

Road of Dreams

The morning went by with nothing but vigorous training from Ian, since he didn't want a repeat of the prelude. It had caused more trouble for him than he wanted to admit. When they got sore and tired and beyond aching did he stop and let them rest. It was the afternoon and most of them were just about through with recovering when Nicky bounced in. He was wearing neon green pants, red sneakers, a black, green, and orange shirt and his fingerless gloves were purple black vertical striped instead of the normal horizontal. He didn't speak to them, instead he gloumped on his dad and whispered something. It intrigued everyone when Ian nodded and Nicky jumped off and did a spin, "We're going on a field trip!"

"A field-trip?" Bria jumped up and looked at him.

"Really?" Lily added wide-eyed.

"We get to go somewhere?" Nao put down the book she had in her hands.

Nicky laughed, "Yep! You guys are so lucky...or well some of you will be anyway." He grinned widely. "My friends, family who never touched Fireside before now, I will present to you the best of the best today! Oh yes." He said looking over at Ninja Brothers. "I'm talking about the City underneath the City. The true face of Fireside."

"You're taking us to Ciudad de Corazón?" Rachel asked blankly, "Do you realize how much work you're putting on me and Bria's shoulders?"

"Eh?" Brianna blinked completely confused.

Nicky looked over at her and smiled, "You'll see when you guys get there. Now, is everyone ready?" He grinned. "Dad agreed to lead you guys through the tunnels. Don't worry, don't worry, it's not as bad as you think."

Mikey grinned, "I'm all in for it. We should go! I wonder what it will be like!" He was really excited just like how Nicky was acting. He always wondered what Fireside really held under the abandoned buildings and what not. "We should go!"

"I'm just going to go with it," Bria shrugged and grabbed her Bo that she was training with that morning and slipped it in her strap.

Nao joined Mickey, jumping onto his back, "I agree! Let's do it!"

"Sounds like fun!" Lily agreed happily.

"Then why are we standing around for!" Nicky teased them, "Everyone! Follow the leader!" He turned around and started pushing Ian towards the attic. "I'll leave you guys behind if you don't hurry up!" He called over his shoulder teasingly.

The tunnels were long and wide, the torches lit up the tunnels with its light, casting darker shadows and a dark light. On the walls was painted images, some simple as if they were merely symbols and others more elaborate and well drawn. The floor was black and carpeted and the ceiling had more cracks and chipped off cement than it didn't. It was spooky, some of the drawings helped enhance that feeling. Even the drawings that weren't supposed to had a dark twinge to it in the firelight. Some drawings weren't completely painted and others were and with lots and lots of detail. It was if the artist or artists had gone through hurdles and hurdles trying to complete them.

Michelangelo head turned from side to side, drinking in the pictures that decorated the eerie pathway, "Whoever the artists were, they sure had a strange sense of humor and darkness."

"Who drew them? The people in the place we're going to?" Brianna asked going over and touching the wall since they were going rather slowly.

As she touched the walls, a memory came to her.

**-Flashback-**

A young woman, dressed in a beige dress was sitting next to her. Her black hair was tied up in a braid, tied off at the ends with a pastel color of pink. In her hands was a delicate wooden brush that was laden with paint. Her lips were smooth and she looked to be at peace with herself. When she looked over her shoulder, another woman smiled at her. Her dress was a dark red color and her hair was a chocolate brown. It was tied up into a bun, two strands of hair falling to frame her face. Next to her was a man, a medium sized man with dark brown hair that was sticking up on one side. His face was full of concentration and he looked over at her, "What are you two grinning at?"

"Our work," Replied the brown haired girl with a simple smile, "Our thoughts."

"Twins," He grumbled.

The man beside the beige dressed woman laughed gently. His eyes were narrow and black; his jet black hair was combed to near perfection. He was wearing dark black hanakma and a blue colored top that was crossed over and tied at the belt. "Are you jealous of their connection? You shouldn't be since you share that same connection with Kristina."

"Whatever Love Sensei," The man replied. "You and Karolina don't seem to have any problems. And why again are we doing this work?" He held up a piece of paper and shoved it at Kristina who fell over with a laugh.

"Careful now!" Karolina called to them, "That paint is expensive and Ian wouldn't want you to waste on fighting! And…of course my words are wasted on you two." She watched them with an eye roll, "The reason why we're doing this is because it's a hope."

"A hope?" The boy and Kristina asked together.

"And a prayer," Karolina responded. "Isn't that right Jordan?" She grinned over at her love.

"A prayer that will be answered, yes," Jordan grinned.

"I can't stand that," The man grumbled as he dipped his paint into one of the cans. "Why the hell are they glowing so much?"

"If you don't know then I'm not going to tell you Jason," Kristina sang, "Goodness boys are so oblivious."

"Agh! Kristy!"

"Don't call me that!"

Karolina and Jordan burst out laughing and decided to ignore them. They looked at each other and grinned at each other. Even though it was far from peaceful, it was tranquil enough for them.

**-End of Flashback-**

Rachel looked over at Bria and whistled, "What did you see? Or were you mesmerized by the paintings?" She joked to her sister.

"I saw…" Bria's eyes lit up, "Hope…A prayer…" she looked at Rae, Leonardo, and Raphael, "Us."

Leo looked over at Bria and looked back at the painting. The painting that she was touching was of a faceless woman reaching out to the stars, her gown was thin and her feet bare, "A prayer…" He murmured, trying to think back on all the practices Ian had run him through to unlock some of his past memories, "To be together again, all of us."

Raphael blinked and ran his hand along the wall over the picture closest to the prayer one, "Rae, you did this one…" he said softly, his eyes blank a bit.

The picture was a man that was sitting cross legged and in his lap was a skeleton. His head was facing the skeletons, eyes narrowed as if it was a cross between anger and grief. Behind him was an angel that was crying, her mouth was opened as if she was singing or speaking, her hands clasped as if she was in prayer. On the ground next to the man was a slithering snake. "Evil and good fight when one man holds the dead." Rachel said her voice soft and sad, "It takes a trigger for the man to sway to either side and bend." She sighed.

Ian watched the four for a while before speaking, "These drawings were made from Kristina's prophecies and from Karolina's prayers." He spoke to them softly, "Some of the pictures the boys drew were from their own prayers and hopes. Some of the residents started calling the tunnels a Calle de Sueño. Road of Dreams."

"Road of Dreams?" Lily smiled, "Sounds magical…"

Ian walked over to one of the pictures; it was of a woman holding a child in one arm and a sword in another. It was another faceless one. He fingered the detailing with carefulness. "Some come here to view the pictures. This one, is a universal favorite. A mother and protector," He chuckled. "Apparently men didn't really have much to worry about. I believe Karolina drew this for a reason, whatever it was is beyond me. Even Jordan didn't know. All he knew was that it was another prayer. Another hope…"

Mikey frowned as he walked up to one of them and looked back at Ian, "Did they ever tell you why they wanted to paint on stone?"

"It was Kristina's idea." Ian said with a laugh. "To make them last forever, was her exact words. Of course, no one really had the heart to tell her nothing lasts forever…but the pictures are still up…still untouched as if they were just painted yesterday. Maybe she saw something about it. I don't know, her mind was an enigma."

"Strength and motherhood," Bria smiled after touching the Mother and Protector picture Ian had referred to, "That's what it means…I see myself painting it…er…Karolina, I mean," she smiled and kissed the babe's head, feeling it pulse through her and she placed a hand over her abdomen.

Leonardo smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Ian closed his eyes and smiled faintly. "Karolina drew things that would inspire others while Kristina drew things that scared others." He spoke softly, "She drew that after she had her child."

"Let's get going, I'm eager to see the Heart," Nao said fingering a huge heart painted around a bright city.


	10. Heart of Fireside

Heart of Fireside

Ian smiled, "Then let's continue." He said. That particular picture Nao had fingered was a drawing that both Karolina and Kristina painted together. He smiled as he thought about them, being with the reincarnations made him feel old. They continued to walk down the tunnels, turning twice before they reached a door. He waved his hand and the door opened, momentarily blinding everyone.

When their eyes adjusted, they gasped. They were onto of a cliff; stairs went in a spiral to get down. The city was small, but it was bright and big. Buildings of many different sizes were built and down below one could see the people clustered around in many different outfits that could be outdated back in the surface, "Welcome my friends, to Cuidad de Corazón." Ian said with a smile as he made his way down the stairs, "Be careful of the food here, imps like to make mischief out of it."

Michelangelo and the rest followed and as they did it was as if whole city had paused for a moment. All eyes were looking at them and someone spoke in a weird language and then cheering erupted. Nicky sweatdropped, "Looks like they know who Karolina's decedent is, as well as cheering you father."

"I wish they wouldn't," Ian replied with a smile as he waved. He jumped down the last flight of stairs and watched as the crowd moved to the side. A large red animal walked up to them. His long antennas' were curled and reached his shoulder. He was as big as a horse. His face was longer now and his fangs sharp. Nicky laughed as he ran down the stairs and gestured for them to hurry up, "I want you guys to meet him!"

"No…NO WAY!" Raphael stared in shock, "It couldn't be!"

"What's your problem?" Bria smiled and easily followed Nicky to the big read creature.

"It's grown so big since the last time I saw him," Rachel grinned as she dragged Raphael down the stairs, "Andy was right; the little one had just been a baby."

Mikey and Donatello both exchanged a glance. Did they want to know what those two were talking about or not? Deciding to shrug it off, they too went down the stairs along with their loved ones to see who it was that Nicky wanted them to meet. When they gathered, Nicky turned to the creature. "This is Loki." He said as the creature went up to Raph and licked his hand. "I guess he likes you Raph," He joked. Then the creature gave it a soft bite.

Raph jumped and cried out, "OW, OW! Get this hooligan off of me!" he pulled to try and free his hand.

"Let him go, Loki," Nicky said to the creature, "I forget you like to bite men don't you? You scratched me and ruined my room the first time I met you. You are a slut to the women though," Loki had let Raph go but just as Nicky said he bumped his head into Rae's hand forcing her to pet him, "Ladies man." He grumbled teasingly. "Then again, you two are probably the first ones he's trusted. That bite isn't as bad as what he gave to most."

He turned to Lily and Bria and Nao, "You three can go ahead and pet him if you want, he'll just be in heaven."

"Awww!" The three grinned at the invitation and went over to the red creature, "So amazing!"

Raph held his hand, "He hates me…I swear!" he frowned/pouted, "He grew so fast!"

Nicky laughed. "He doesn't hate you." He grinned.

"How do you know?" Raph looked at him.

Nicky smiled as he looked at Raph, "Because if he hated you, he would have attacked Rae. She is carrying your child and your scent is all over her. He may be a ladies' man, but there's a scent he doesn't like then he goes after it or ignores it." Nicky said with a smile, "I think that bite was intended to be playful. Rae told me that you were the one who found him first and so called "played" with him."

"He attacked me!" Raphael protested and told him the story.

Nicky smiled, "He attacked you and you answered back, he started thinking it was a game and decided to play." He answered back. "Geez, you're acting a lot like your wife. Once she hates something she holds that grudge for a while." He snickered, "But you don't need me to tell you that."

Raph huffed, "I'm sorry! First impressions just did not go well, Nick," he sighed, "If I was around him without the guy causing me wounds, then sure, he looks fun to be around," he shrugged.

Nicky laughed and gently slapped him on the back, "It's okay." He said with a wink. "I think Loki understands." He turned to the girls. "Are you guys going to spoil him or take a look around the city? I swear he likes this too much." Loki had rolled over onto his belly, pretty much forcing the girls to rub it. "Manwhore," He murmured affectionately.

"Be nice." Rachel said with a pout. "With him rolling around and stuff he's acting as if you haven't been taking care of him." She stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh chill, I spoil him plenty." Nicky said with an eyeroll.

Brianna giggled, "How about we split up?" she asked, "And explain to each other what we saw later?"

Nicky smiled, "I can agree to that." He said with a laugh. "Everyone's safe here, so try not to pull out your weapons unless asked okay? You might accidentally get yourself into something you really shouldn't be in."

Leonardo smiled, "Thanks for the warning Nicky," He smiled at Bria, "Let's go."

"This is going to be so cool!" Mikey said as he turned to Nao, "Come on!"

Nao laughed and took Michelangelo's hand, "Sure thing! Lead the way, my love."

Bria giggled and took out her Bo to use as a walking stick, just in case the terrain got to her. For some reason whenever on a new surface, especially gravel or soft soil, even grass on a hill, she seemed to trip a lot until she got used to it, "Alrighty! How about we go this way? I think I saw a huge fountain near the middle on the way down," she grinned.

Leo nodded, "Sure." He said. The pathways were made of white cobblestone. It was polished and clean and even the buildings facades were well-kept. People out on their stands called out their wares and people that were walking by were nice. As they walked by, he saw many types of people, some couldn't even being to describe or name. "Amazing," He murmured. "So many supernatural's and super humans it is unreal."

It made him feel a little sad that he couldn't bring his father here. He would no doubt fall in love with the harmony and tranquility the city brought. Surely there were healers or doctors of kinds that would be able to help him. He sighed, but moving him would be hard, ninja or not. Old-age was never a fun or good thing to go through.

Bria smiled and rubbed his arm, "We can always travel most of the way in the Battle Shell?" she offered, "Then carry him down the stairs?"

"If he desires to come," Leo said softly. "I'll talk to him later about it. After we look at the city," He looked around. The painting that Karolina and Kristina drew was in no comparison to how beautiful the real thing was. "Come on." He grinned, "You wanted to see the fountain, right?"

"Yup!" Bria laughed and pulled him along.

They were getting close to the fountain when they heard a voice, "Leo!" Leo at first thought that there was someone else that had his shortened nickname, but when he didn't move, the voice giggled and called his name again. He left Bria's side and ran towards the fountain and stared. The sculpture of the fountain was of falling flowers that was against a pillar. The fountain's spray came from the three "pots" that still had flowers in them. The water was crystal and pure, one's reflection could be seen, since no turbidity was showing.

Leo looked to see that a boy was standing on the ledge of the fountain. His arms were folded and a very inhumanly bright blue. His skin was as white as china and he looked very fragile and delicate. "Ah! And Bria too!" He waved his hand. "Bria come over here!" He shouted over the clamor of the city, "I thought that it was you two, the reincarnations of Jordan and Karol."

Brianna joined them and blinked, "How do you know us?'

The boy fluttered down, but no wings could be seen besides in the light when he had flown. He landed easily and smiled, "It's been a long time since I smelled the scent of memories and of sakura petals." He grinned, "That scent never changed, no matter what you two reincarnated into. It's just my luck that I managed to find you two together for once!"

"For once?" Bria raised an eyebrow, "Who are you?"

He made a face. "I suppose it would have been too much to ask for wouldn't it?" He reached into his pocket and held up a locket. "Karolina used to have this around her neck, it used to be her treasure. It was supposed to be a heirloom, but you get the picture." He sighed, "My name is Jazhino. Jazz for short. I was founded by Karolina and Jordan."

Bria reached and took the locket, opening it, and then paused as she remembered what Jazz was saying.

**-Flashback-**

The alleyway was still damp from yesterday's downpour. Still, she couldn't very well ignore the walls and the streets when they showed a little kid, probably no older than six or seven, screaming in pain. She had dragged Jordan along with her, tying her skirts up as she went, highly determined to get to the boy.

Jordan hadn't said a word as they ran through the alleyways, only looking around. Karolina had given him some idea of what they were looking for, and that was enough for him. He grabbed her arm when he heard whimpering. She was about to open her mouth to demand him to let him go when he placed a finger to his mouth. They fell silent. Besides the sounds of the carriages and hoofs that were running up and down the streets, there was nothing.

"What are you listening for? Someone is in pain!" Karolina pleaded.

"Shh, listen harder," Jordan whispered.

Beyond the sounds of carriages being pulled and hoofs hitting the cobblestones, there was whimpering. At first, it easily could be mistaken for a cat that was in pain, but when they listened to it, they could tell it was someone human. "Let's go," She grabbed his arm again and dragged him towards the sound.

They didn't have to go very far when they reached a young boy. His clothes were torn in every direction, falling off of him as he moved to ease the pain. There was no blood, but that didn't mean anything. Ian had told them that one way to tell a supernatural from a superhuman was by blood. Some supernatural didn't bleed, but they cried. "He's just a kid." Karolina gasped, her eyes watering, "Who would do such a thing?"

"Someone who doesn't understand," Jordan responded as he walked closer to the boy. He placed a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and pushed him slowly and gently onto his back. Right on the ribcage was a big gaping wound that if he had been human, would have bled him out. The only thing that was intact was a locket that was around the boy's neck. "Karol," He turned to the woman, "Help me."

"Right," Karolina shook herself out of her shock and ran to the boys side. She knelt down and placed her hands around his wound. She closed her eyes, trying to make the body remember what it was like before the wound had occurred. She literally had reserved the body's time into the past, healing the wound. The boy started crying and she pulled him to her lap, cradling him. "You poor thing," She said, tears leaking out of eyes. "You were chased weren't you? By people who wanted to sell you off for money. You're going to be safe."

The boy pushed her away and looked at her, "Who are you to tell me what's safe and what's not? You said so yourself. You could sell me off too, because I'm a faerie."

Jordan shook his head, "We aren't like that. If you don't want to come back with us, then we're not going to force or persuade you. It's your life to live. All we're offering is a home, a shelter. You aren't the only one. If you want, you can come with us and see if we're being truthful. If you have any doubts, any instincts that tell you that we're doing something wrong and you decide to run, then obey that instinct and run. Neither I nor Karol will chase you down."

"On your honor?" The boy demanded as he reached up to grab his locket, "Do you promise me? Do you both promise me?"

"Of course," The two said together with a smile. When the boy nodded, Karolina stood up, putting the boy on her hip. He didn't make a move to get down or tell her anything. "So, what's your name?" She asked as she started walking down the alleyways towards home.

"My name is Jazhino. You two can call me Jazz."

"Do you have any family you want to bring with you?" Jordan asked, "Just so you'll have company?"

"I'm an orphan," Jazz responded, "I have no one."

"That's not true," Karoline protested, "You have us. And if you like the Sanctuary, you have that too! Now let's go. I know that before I let you run anywhere I'm going to give you a bath. You're filthy."

**-End of Flashback-**

Brianna laughed softly and reached over, rubbing where the "wound" had been in the vision, "It's nice seeing you again, Jazz," she knelt down and brought him into her arms.

"It's nice to see you again too, Karol," Jazz said with a smile as he hugged her tightly. He looked up over at Leo and smiled, "You too Jordan."

Leo smiled and gently ruffled the boy's white hair affectionately. He had clips of the boy in his memory and he knew that Jordan always ruffled his hair. "It's good to see you too," He agreed gently.

"Hey! How about you show us other people we used to know? Places?" Bria asked eagerly.

"I'm not much help when it comes down to faces, but places I can show," Jazz agreed with a grin.


	11. Heart of Fireside p2

Heart of Fireside p2

Raphael tugged Rachel along, smiling as he stopped and watched a blacksmith work, made her join him in the weapon's shop, and allowed her to take her into magic-based shops. "All of this stuff is so amazing," he grinned fingering a sterling silver dragon with a crystal ball in its upturned claws.

Rachel laughed gently as she looked at one of the other shelves. "It's a fun shop." She agreed. "I tried to make a branch of this back in my old shop. I was successful for a while, but then I quit." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly with a laugh, "I think I like it much better when I work under someone than working for myself."

She stood up and sighed to herself. It's been forever since she'd been in this city. The kindness of others, the open-arm nature of them all, it was one of the reasons why she felt ashamed to be among them, but also felt happy and at peace, pure. This city had been the first thing Ian had brought her and Matt to see. She remembered what used to be her job, well it wasn't really her job, but it was at the same time. To use prophecy to see what children would survive.

Even though Fireside was big enough to hold lots and lots of supernatural-humans, children were hard to keep. Very hard. She always hated the job, but enjoyed it too. Couples sometimes would come to her to ask if they found their partners, and other things like that.

Of course, then Ian had to find out that she was taking lessons in fighting and decided to watch her along with Matt who also was took lessons with her, "I wish life could be simple sometimes." She murmured her favorite saying.

"It's vague, but I remember this used to be our favorite shop," Raph smiled at her.

"Of course it was chap," A young woman laughed as she walked up to them. Her long blond hair was tied in two braids and her dress was plain and simple, "You guys used to always come in here, browse around. When I was lucky, you two sometimes stayed and helped with the customers."

"Kurla," Rachel said in surprise, "How long have you been standing behind us."

"Since Jason's reincarnation picked up that glass ball. Don't drop it now! It holds a spirit in there," Kurla told him with a laugh, "Not a bad one, in case you were wondering."

"What kind of spirit? How'd it get in there?" Raphael blinked and looked at the dragon.

Kurla laughed gently. "What kind? A protector." She replied. "As for how it got in there, you should find a medium and see if it'll respond. The afterlife is a different ballgame from what any one is used to, even psychics can't always tell you what they want out of their newly formed lives."

Kurla gently stroked the dragon and smiled. "It is a ward now. As long as it doesn't cause me trouble, I keep it here until it chose who should buy it. All of the things in my shop one don't just pick off the shelves. The items itself pick the new owners themselves."

Raph hummed to himself in thinking and shrugged, going to put it back. However, just as he was about to put it on the shelf, there was a sharp jolt through his body and he nearly dropped it, but caught it in a cradle in his other arm. His eyes widened when it came to life, shaking off the silver striping, and curled up there, blinking at them, his eyes shining like the crystal he had been holding, and his red and gold body glittered with the rest of the crystal ball. It sneezed and shook, a few sparkles directly shining off and floating to make a design similar to a tear on the side of Raphael's eye going down his cheek. After that, it curled up again, still watching them.

"Awww!" Rachel grinned as she looked at it. "Oh that's so cute!"

Kurla rolled her eyes as she looked at the silver that was on the floor. "Looks like it's been waiting for you," The shopkeeper said with a smile, "I will get a broom and sweep up the hatchling's eggshells so to speak."

"M-Me?" Raph's eyes widened, "What? I'm so confused!"

"I never would have guessed that the ward would come to life like that." Kurla said as she came back with a broom and a dust pan. "The dragon itself is a ward, a shield, but for it to hatch makes me wonder if there's more to it than just that. It chose you for a reason Jason. Because everything has to have a reason for a course of action to be made…"

"You're the owner of the dragon." Rachel said with clapped hands, "It really likes you it seems." She grinned widely, "He's so adorable. What are you going to name it?"

"Uh…ok," Raph blinked and touched his face where the tear-like marking was, "Why'd it give me this?" he blinked and shifted his arms she he'd be holding his new attachment better.

"It's a mark." Kurla said gently to Raph. She went over and took a look at it. "So that's what you're protecting little one." She cooed gently as she traced the mark gently, "A teardrop mark. Most dragons use marks to show who their owner is and what they do for that owner. A dragon that creates dreams would make a mark of a purple moon. A dragon that defends would probably have a mark of a shield and a mark of a weaponry dragon would have a symbol of the weapon they can manifest quickly of." She explained. "A teardrop…I wonder if it protects tears or if he creates them or what." She thought for a second, "I wonder if it's a ward after all, or if it's not, very interesting."

"Well…do I have to pay or may we just leave?" Raphael asked looking down at his dragon.

"Think of it as a belated wedding present," Kurla said with a smile, "You two may leave if you wish."

"Thank you, Kurla," Raph smiled and hugged her, "Thank you very much," he nodded to her and wrapped his other arm around Rachel, "Shall we?"

"Yep!" Rachel said as she wrapped her arm around his waist. "Bye Kurla! See you again!" She grinned as Raphael lead her out of the shop.

Raphael looked at his little dragon, "How about Hekihari? Tear Crystal?" he offered looking at Rachel.

Rachel blinked as she looked at him. She thought about it for a minute and grinned. "I like it." She said with a smile. "It's interesting." She said as she looked at the dragon that seemed to have made itself comfortable in his arm. "I wonder..." she trailed off, having too many "I wonder" thoughts.

"What is it?" Raph asked tilting his head.

"I think my answers will come in time." Rachel replied with a grin. She thought for a moment. Her fingers went into her lips as she thought about her thoughts. "Eh, we got time." She replied to her thoughts, knowing that it was just going to bug Raph to be kept out of the loop. "Besides, there's no pressure. Now let's go explore." She said with a laugh.

Nao looked around, feeling all the life and wonder of the underground city, "It's like a dream…" she murmured feeling like she was in a daze, "Like I'm…walking another's path…"

Michelangelo blinked as he looked over at Nao and looked at the city. It was a beautiful city and the people were very nice to them. No matter what he saw though, he couldn't help to think of the picture that he saw and of how overly familiar this place was. It was as if, just as if, he had been here, "I know what you mean. Kind of…"

Nao paused as she saw a broken down building yet it was still in rather good shape. Furrowing her eyes she went toward it and ducked through the hanging piece of cloth and looked around. It was dark, yet bright enough to see where you were going. "I...know this place..." she walked a bit further and stopped when her foot hit something. Bending down, there was a leg like for a bed, but along it was a notch. She put her nail in it and it popped open.

Mikey looked at what Nao was doing when he heard something come in from behind him. He turned around, but no one seemed to be there. He looked over at Nao and frowned, "What did you find?" This place, though it was nice and good looking, was giving him the creeps. He recognized the house's familiarity, as if he been in here before…as if he had… "Did Kevin and Natalya live here before?"

"I knew you'd remember!" A feminine voice responded. "You guys just wandered in, I just had to know if the rumors were true!"

Nao blinked and stood up and held the smooth object in her hand. She opened her hand and the whole room lit up. What seemed shabby turned extravagant and the shack transformed into a house, the current room they were in was the living room with a couch that Nao was standing in front of, and Mikey was standing next to a window that had painting supplies of all sorts stacked in the corner and along that wall. Along the side with the couch were books and scrolls. Nao blinked and looked in her hand. There was a stone that looked like the colors of a sunset, what with it's shining black around the rim and then shades of yellow and gold in the middle.

Mikey looked over at the couch and blinked when he saw a woman sitting on it. Her long orange dress was cut at the sides and there were floral patterns all over it. Her collar was up to her neck and it was buttoned by designed cords. Her long purple hair had to buns on the either side of the head, but the rest of it was flowing, passed the couch and onto the floor. She stood up and grinned. "Welcome back you two. It's been a long time since me or Mikah seen you. Ah…but you two probably don't remember us do you? Reincarnations of Natalya and Kevin?"

"Who are you?" Mikey blinked. He recognized her, but he didn't. He had a feeling that he knew her, somehow, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"We have names, Domina," Nao blinked at her, "I'm Nao, this is Michelangelo, Mikey for short."

"You remembered me!" Domina asked as she clapped her hands gleefully. "I'm so happy!" She said with a grin. "Even if it was just a name you remembered, you still remembered something!" She smiled as she turned back to Mikey, "Mikey and Nao. Natalya and Kevin," She repeated softly. "It's been such a long time…" Tears stung her eyes but she wiped them away, "I'm so happy to meet you guys! I thought I'd never get the chance!"

"Just how long have you been waiting for us?" Mikey asked as he watched her. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"Well of course! I had to keep it up!" The woman stated as she looked at him with a slight glare. "If I didn't, then you guys would probably be wandering into a store or something!" She stomped her foot and tossed her head. "Honestly. We couldn't just let Natalya's and Kevin's home disappear. We couldn't bear to think about what it could turn into. We did the only thing we could. We moved in to preserve it and waited for the original owners to return."

Nao smiled and hugged her, "I'm so sorry, Mina. It's wonderful to see you. Where is Mikah?"

"He's lazing around somewhere like always." Domina responded as she hugged her back. "Let's go find him!" She said cheerfully as she lead the way up stairs. "He'll be so happy to see you both again." She said. "When the rumor spread about the reincarnations of the Familia, Mikah went ballistic. He's been wondering when you guys were going to show and personally I was wondering the same thing!" She grinned as she went to one of the rooms and flung it open.

It was a library. Five rows of six feet tall of books and scrolls and most of the shelves were stacked full. The extras were lying on the random number of desks that were pushed up against the walls. It had one window, but the purple curtain was closed. "Now, where to find you Mikah," She said as she bounced in.

"Mikah? Great-grand-son?" Nao called stepping around the corner, looking around. She saw a closet and smirked again, going over to it. She leaned against the wall where the door could swing open, but she wouldn't get smack and would still be hidden, "My goodness, where could he be?"

The door opened just partly before he jumped out and when he saw that no one was there, he snapped his fingers in irritation. His hair was chocolate brown with light highlights of blond and red. His eyes were bluish green. He was tall, around 6 feet tall. He had sworn that she was right by the door. It was a perfect setup, he was going to give her a hug or grab her and cover her eyes so she couldn't see who it was…so where was she? "Oh great, I just ruined it." He pouted.

Nao wrapped her arms around him from behind, "Hello, Mikah." she smiled, "Good try, but you Great-grandfather is a prankster himself."

"Ah!" Mikah shouted before he turned around, "Grandmother!" He scolded. "You need to learn to let people have their fun!" He told her as he turned around to hug her back. "I forgive you anyway."

"Thank you," Nao smiled and rubbed his cheek, "Wow…you're so handsome!" she cooed.

"Thanks." Mikah said with a smile as he closed his eyes to feel her touch, "You're beautiful in this form too."

"Ah so that's where you were!" Domina cried as she saw them. "I guess I should leave it to Nao to know where you are!" Mikey was right behind her and he gasped softly. It was like he was looking at someone who easily could become a reflection. Of who though? Of Natalya and Kevin or their offspring that they had?

Mikah blinked when he saw Mikey and scratched his cheek. "Um…hi." He said with a wave. "I'm Mikah." He grinned. "Nice to meet you, again, grandfather." He grinned. "You look great."

"Thanks." Mikey said, a little stunned, "You do too."

Domina looked between the two boys and shook her head. "You guys are so weird. A normal family would run up and hug each other!"

"Mina, darling," Mikah said with a snicker. "You're not helping the situation."

"Since when was this a situation?" Mikey asked with a raised eyebrow as he glomped Mikah, making him nearly fall, but the boy caught his balance before he did. "See?"

Nao laughed and joined in the fun, "Group hug! Mina, you join, too!"

Domina laughed. "Sure! Why not!" She ran into the group and hugged them tightly, laughing.


	12. Backgrounds

Backgrounds

Ian sat down at the central fountain. His eyes were watching the city. Standing here, it made him long for the companions he had in the past. How exhilarated they would feel, knowing that the city they poured blood, sweat, tears, disappointing failures and excitable happy endings, into. Each stone stacked on top of one another, every person that walked across the cobblestone path was built upon emotions, dreams, and prayers.

His own blood, tears and dreams were ever lasting in each stone. His wife's tears and happiness and fatigue were in the designs. His companions that left behind pictures, laughter, and hopes, were somehow in this place. He turned to the fountain, watching it. "I think it's time for them to know more about you…" He said softly as he stood up. _**'Return to the fountain please, I think it's time for all of you to know more.'**_

Brianna and Leonardo were the first to show up, since they had headed this direction at the beginning of their visit and were closest. Bria was wiping her eyes, the emotion twinkling in them, but it wasn't sadness, happiness, or fear…it was a whole bunch of feelings hitting her. So many memories and feeling everywhere she went, whenever she brushed against someone, or even stepped on a certain stone, even when she accidentally tripped down, clumsily meeting descendants of her and Leo…at least who they had been all those years ago. She leaned against Leo as he supported her, nuzzling his shoulder.

Nao cried out in joy as she was plopped down playfully on her bottom and Michelangelo next to her, Mikah laughing in the wind, "You little stinker!" she shook her fist but couldn't help a giggle.

Mikey just laughed and turned his head to see Lily dragging Donny down the road with her, trailing him behind. "Lily!" Donny was laughing as they finally reached the middle. The last couple to show up surprisingly was Raphael and Rae, the girl holding on to a baby dragon.

"Hekihari," Raphael smiled toward the dragon, "How about saying hi to my family, eh?" he scratched the cute Hekihari's head and he hiccupped blue fire and chirped, "Good boy." He watched as the little one flapped his wings and glided over to the closest one, who was Bria, and licked her cheeks, instantly drying her tears.

Ian smiled as he watched the scene. His eyes wandered to the dragon. It was a very pretty dragon, and it wasn't a coincidence that Jason would get the dragon back. Not when it was his to begin with. "Hekihari," He repeated the name. It had a different name now. "It fits him." He said as he watched Brianna gently cuddle the dragon on her lap, Leo was looking at it curiously. Mikey was practically trying to leap over five people to catch a glimpse.

Brianna giggled, feeling better now, "Arigato, Hekihari," she murmured and whispered in the red-orange-gold dragon's ear, let him lick Leo's cheeks too, and then let him fly up and over to the hyperactive Mikey.

"You called us didn't you, Ian?" Rachel asked, pressing the matter a little gently. It was so easy to get distracted. Mikey was happily playing with the dragon, teasing it and letting it fly to Nao who was also was giggling at trying to play with it as well. The dragon really loved the attention he was grabbing.

Lily laughed softly as Hekihari joined them and said hello, and then she watched as he flapped back over to Raphael's arm, curling up in the crook of his bent elbow, "Yes, that's right. We were talking to friends when you called," she smiled as Raph petted Hekihari's silk-like wings.

Ian smiled and leaned back and looked at each and every one of them. He sighed and thought about where to begin. "I believe that you all should know the history this has been put on. Knowing you found your old friends and family eases the story up quite a bit, but now you're also warned about the burdens you're about to carry."

"About to carry?" Lily asked. Unlike the others, she didn't really understand. She didn't have empathy, telepathy, Sight of Future, Sight of Past, or anything of the sort.

Ian nodded softly. "Let's go back a story from afar." He said, he paused thinking about where to start. He thought about his words. What should he say? He tapped his fingers together. "The beginning would be too far for anyone to comprehend…but I suppose that would be the best place to begin."

"The beginning is always the best place to begin anything," Bria smiled in agreement.

"Of course you should!" Matt's voice replied as a flash of blond and black went across their vision and tackled her happily on her shoulders, "Please, Ian?"

Bria laughed and bent to put Matt back down on his feet, not able to support the her weight on her back, but didn't mind the cross-dresser being on her back, "Nice to see you, too, Mattie."

Matt giggled and sat down, "Andy's coming, too." He said gently.

"Really?" Bria asked and joined his side, not surprised when Rachel joined them and went on her other side. She had a flash back to the hardest part that year, when she unintentionally betrayed Leo and was bawling over when Raph has said Leo seemed most like Edward from the Twilight Saga. Matt and Rae were in their places, now all that was missing…

"I'm here." Andrew whispered in her ear as he sat down, donned in a white lab coat and his hair was ruffled a bit. He wrapped his arms around her, ignoring Leonardo, "I suppose you're going to start?" he asked Ian.

Ian smiled gently and looked at the four that was right before him. Aleksey, Kegan, Karolina and Kristina. The Empathic, the Telepathic, the Prophetess, and the Priestess. He watched them all and frowned. The Empathic only lived two lives. Everyone else had one. Aleksey had kept his name for two lives before it changed. "The Four Guardians…I think that would be a nice start."

Brianna leaned back into Andy and watched Ian, her eyes half-lidded, but eventually she closed them, just waiting for Ian's deep voice to start creating the images.

"Karolina and Kristina, naturally are the beginning of all this chaos anyway." Ian chuckled darkly under his breath as he looked at the group. "Twin sisters born of a dark omen. One who could see the future and pinpoint exactly what happened in vivid detail, and another who could recall the past as if it just happened. Both together were formidable. Too dangerous to keep together. The village they lived in agreed with this line of reasoning, but killing the twins would bring more trouble. Instead they split them up. One child went to the north and stayed. The other to the south and stayed."

Ian paused. "No surprise that they never knew one another. Kegan and Aleksey were born in the same family. They were Karolina's and Kristina's brothers. They knew something was off when they were around their families. Aleksey felt the unease…Kegan heard the thoughts. The village was dying out. They blamed the twins that they split apart."

Bria blushed at the thought she had her first time with her literal-soul-brother, but she pulled Rachel closer to her, feeling the familiarity of being torn apart.

Ian looked at them, a sparkle in his eye. "Aleksey and Kegan knew they were missing something. So, Aleksey traveled north, he broke away from the village. The small village's only doctor abandoned them. The population decreased drastically. Soon, Kegan went to the south to look for his sister too. The village died. They lost their connection to the outside world."

Bria shook with suppressed giggles, poking Matt's cheek. Gee, how'd she figure Mattie would go after Rachel?

Matt just laughed lightly and leaned forward eagerly. Ian watched them and said, "Aleksey found Karolina in a small village. She helped her family know the best crops and with her connection with the past, she knew how to wield things that grown men were supposed to wield. She tended the fields and the crops grew. Aleksey didn't know if she knew anything, all he knew was that one of them could see the past and the other the future. So, he stayed hidden, becoming that village's doctor."

"Kegan had to become a street-rat to find Kristina. She was a skilled thief, always running around stealing food and stuff. She had her own gang and took care of them as if they were family. They always thought of her as a shield, a mother. She always got herself caught before she let one of them get themselves hurt." He paused. "Kegan became a part of her gang and watched her work. Soon it didn't take the two very long to figure out who they were looking for."

Funny. Kristina was always the bad/good girl and Karolina was perfect. Rachel looked over at her sister and sighed dramatically. Shouldn't surprise her really. What harm did the Past do? Nothing. What harm did the future do? A lot.

Brianna ran her fingers through Rae's hair, murmuring a 'sorry' to her. She really didn't mean to leave her on the other side of the line, but she hoped her love soothed that over even just a little.

"Karolina figured out that Aleksey was her brother when she got attacked by some of the villager boys. Girls were supposed to marry back then and bear children. Girls who worked in the fields were peasants. She came from a strong family. Her family's son could do all the work and so could her father. Since she tended the fields, it made everyone a little edgy. It was a big belief that a girl couldn't do a man's work." Ian continued, his eyes not looking at the four anymore, but at the four he used to remember. "A boy struck her with his plow and broke her left wrist." He said absently. "Aleksey was furious and no one ever seen anyone angrier than he was. He tossed a pail of water at him and made sure that the bucket hit him right in the head. He refused to heal him afterwards. Since he was so angry it was easy to tap into his past. Karolina met the oldest brother who never knew that he had a little sister until he felt the unease and Kegan had told him."

"Kristina didn't care." Ian said with an eye-roll. "Kegan walked up to her and told her that he was a brother and all she said to him was welcome to the gang. Whether she took him seriously or not is still a mystery, but I don't think she ever believed him. Kegan and she were very close. He was the first person to ever gain her trust. Completely. No strings, no games, no anything. She gave it to him without a thought."

Bria rubbed her wrist with the memory of pain, though it was long since fixed by Ian. She pinched Matt's nose until he honked from not being able to breathe through it.

Matt rubbed his nose and glared as everyone else snickered around him. Even Ian had to cover his mouth with his hand. "That hurt." Matt complained and Rachel snorted.

Bria laughed at him, "You deserve it, you know it," she waved her hand and then nuzzled his nose with hers playfully, "I love you, Matt," she said in a sing-song innocent voice.

"I don't know if I love you back." Matt replied with a teasing eyeroll, "I'll think on that."

Ian snickered and continued the story. "Karolina and Aleksey soon had to leave the village. From what Aleksey had told Karolina, they still had a sister to look for and the second oldest brother. They packed what little belongings they had and Aleksey sent a letter to them by pigeon about what they were going to go, where they expected to meet. Where we're sitting at, is the fountain where they met." Ian smiled gently.

"Kegan got the letter, and even though Kristina hated the fact that it meant leaving her gang, she let him drag her all the way to this little area. It took forever, months to be honest." He paused. "When the twins met you could immediately see that they weren't twins anymore. Kristina was hardened from the street-life and Karolina was soft. But you could also tell that Kristina made a vow to never hurt her sister. Even though they just met, she already made that promise to herself. So, she became everything that Karolina naively didn't feel. Every doubt, every suspicion, everything she hated, became things that even Karolina hated but couldn't show it because she didn't know how to. But, Karolina subconsciously decided to become everything Kristina hid. All her love, trust, happiness, sadness, all the emotions she locked up, Karolina would show. It's how they became Mirror Sisters. You just had to look at one to know what the other was feeling."

"Matt, Andrew, Brianna, Rachel." Ian said reciting the names of the present. "Kegan, Aleksey, Karolina, and Kristina…These are the four Original Informers. Kristina the Defender Prophetess, Kegan the Messenger, Aleksey the Healer, and Karolina the Faith-Giver and Priestess…" He sighed. "I merely somehow became the leader when I came back from a war that turned me into a vampire. It was before I met Lese. I was wounded. Greatly. I still remember how I felt as I transformed. The poison coursed through my veins, burning away every bit of humanity I had. It stopped my heart, stilled my blood, it stole and locked away my whole mind." Ian sighed as he listened to himself. "But never once I regretted the change. Aleksey found me lying on the ground, my blood was still pooling. I nearly killed him, but he managed to calm me down enough to drag me back to the small hideout they made themselves. Only the real desperate would come searching for them. Kristina made sure of that."

Bria grinned and hugged Matt and Rae, feeling Andy grip her and nuzzle her hair, "I knew I felt a connection that night," she murmured kissing her sister's forehead and resting her head on Matt's.

Ian smiled and watched them. "It still confuses me on why they chose me to be leader. I got patched up, started training with my vampire powers, Kristina was very, very strict in making sure that I knew how to defend myself. In fact, all of the methods I've been teaching you were from her. She taught Karolina, Kegan, and Aleksey in the same art. Being a street-rat meant knowing more weapons than you could count. She wanted a leader. She made me."

He sighed as he shook his head. "I had to be years younger than she was and she wanted me to be leader. A vampire leader. I don't know what went through her mind. She made me learn how to defend using weapons, using my powers, using my hands, using everything I got. She even taught me how to play dirty." He sighed. "Karolina and Aleksey didn't know what to think. All Kegan would tell me was that I was a lucky bastard."

Bria giggled and giggled a bit harder when Matt snickered from being able to catch the memory that played off her, "She knew something none of us did back then," she admitted.

Ian sighed, "No one knew how far she could see in to the future. Sometimes I start to wonder if she foresaw something like this happening. When she died, I blamed her for not telling us. I relied too much on her power to See. It was a shame, because while I was blinded to that, I was blind to my brother-in-law's suffering." He sighed again and shook his head. "Even though she was harsh, Aleksey and Kegan were worse."

"Aleksey wanted me to be in control of my emotions. My bouts of anger were like Kegan's. Frequent. Sometimes I would actually nearly kill Kristina when I get that mad. While he forced me to accept emotions and teach me how to fight his influencing, Kegan taught me how to block my mind. Being on the streets he and Kristina saw things that when I was naive and young, I would never see in my life. I was horrified and he would continue showing me these images until I blocked them. Until I completely had my mind solidly blocked. Soon, not even I could unlock it. Kristina couldn't see my future and Kegan couldn't read my mind or send me anything. She was satisfied, but Karolina was not."

"What else did she do?" Raphael asked curiously, finally putting in a word although this was the Fours' story.

"She in Karol or she as in Kristina?" Ian asked with a smile at Raph.

"Sorry, Ian…I've been following pretty well but then when I get lost in the story I forget who's who," Raph smiled sheepishly and Hekihari peeped at him, making him rub his head, "Karol, what did Karol do?"

"Karol thought her sister was being harsh. Aleksey being cold. Kegan being cruel. She literally dragged me outside everyday and actually make sure that I still had a heart and had faith and hope. She wanted me to enjoy life. Not to be cold like her sister was." Ian chuckled. "Oh they argued all the time, like a married couple telling one another the best discipline acts on a child. I was always ashamed when they argued. Kristina told her I wasn't a child, which made my ego inflate I admit, but when Karolina snapped at her and told her that I still had a heart, I was humbled. There was never a middle ground when those two argued. One always had to win. Karolina won this battle, since Kristina couldn't deal with it anymore. She gave me extra training just because she was furious."

"No wonder I hate arguing," Bria rubbed her head and smiled, "I argue to a point, but when words hurt I either drop it or pursue in a different way."

Ian smiled gently, "We came up with this. All five of us. A sanctuary to the ones who needed a home. Kristina always wanted one, for she never had one. Kegan didn't care as long as he could cook, Aleksey needed one so he could start bringing in patients and Karolina wanted nothing more than peace for the ones who needed a place to stay, all because they were different in some way. It took ages. Years." He stressed the word out with a hiss.

"Is that how you came up with Fireside?" Lily blinked, "It's not only to represent your members but it's this hidden city?"

"Yes." Ian nodded with a smile. "Fire represented life and side well; just because fire is jagged it doesn't have a side. Irony if you will. A life with a flat shape never exists."

"I'm so curious, Ian…how did we all end up adding to the original five? Did Lese make it Six?" Nao asked.

"Jordan made it six." Ian replied gently. "His skill with the earth and with the swords was condemnable. He wielded them as if they were a part of him. He had me at draw more times than he had me at a win. It was a nice feeling. Kristina was highly pleased, since Karolina had used her past-seeing to know where he was. He wasn't injured, but he was willing to join. Thought our cause was much more honorable than what the humans thought they were doing. Back then they were reaping the soil and were building high buildings, yes…they were destroying the earth and weakening him in the process. A shelter was needed. We gave it to him freely."

"When Karolina started to court him did Kristina fly up the wall. Aleksey and Kegan were all in for it, knowing that the Earth and the Past were connected in more ways than one. They fought more constantly than Karolina ever did." Ian continued with an eye roll. "I believe once they nearly killed each other and Karolina didn't speak to her sister for two months straight and made sure to snub her as cold as she could. Kristina never had him at that point again."

Bria giggled, grinning she was that protective of her lover way back then, and she glanced up at Leo through what seeing space she had between Matt's and Andy's shoulders.

"Number Seven was Indira. She didn't have any powers at her disposal but she had one thing that no one dared deny. Her memory was absolutely perfect." Ian said with a smile on his face. "I could ask her anything I wanted to know and if she knew it, she gave me exact details. She hated art and would never memorize anything about it. Funny when number Nine showed up, but I think number Eight was next right? Indira's best friend in the whole world, Natalya."

"Nao!" Lily bounced happily.

"Natalya was from a village that Indira was from, but she had the wind to control. She also was a little telepathic, so she obviously needed training to get it up to speed. Being a little empathic, Aleksey made sure to train her just a bit since it didn't go very far." Ian thought about his next words and shook his head. "She was a quick study. Kristina of course trained both of them in fighting, I merely had to make sure that she was training them correctly. A boring job, but as we got more people, the work load started to go on my shoulders."

"Gomenasai," Nao and Lily sighed in apology.

"If anyone should be apologizing I would much rather it be Kristina. She laughed at me the whole time and didn't stop until death silenced her." Ian said with a playful toss of his head. "I had fun and I still do."

"Bad Kristy," Bria bopped Rae over the head, grinning. She was having fun with this.

"Anyway, Number Nine was Tyler. Genius who could control water. Not surprising since the water holds memories. The Four Elements actually were all Karolina's counterparts to be honest. She was more than pleased to talk to anyone who wielded one of the four, all because the past-seeing. Karolina thought it was very fun to talk to Tyler. Especially since he was always blunt and wasn't ever sarcastic. Indria taught him how to be sarcastic. Goodness, he walked up to me once and asked me if I was feeling a burden yet. I was training four or more people, Kristina was on my ass back then trying to get me to expand and Aleksey needed to know how we were going to get supplies and Kegan was needing a bigger room. I was under pressure. When I told him this, he blinked and said, he already knew. So I asked why he was asking me, and he told me he was being rhetorical. I was so surprised I dropped everything. Kristina blew up at me later on. So did Aleksey although he did it in a kinder way and told me not to go into cardiac arrest even though I couldn't."

Rachel snickered as she covered her mouth and Andrew's cheeks colored bright. "I'm not apologizing." She said with a smile. "You shouldn't have dropped them."

Andrew merely just shook his head at this. He had no words at all to describe any of this.

"How mean!" Bria dropped her jaw in playful horror.

Ian just mocked glared at them both. "I swore you and Kegan were going to be the death of me. If you two weren't off doing something suicidal it was trying to get me to kill you and then Karolina wouldn't hesitate to do the same thing. But I had changed my mind. Aleksey was more high-strung than anything in the world."

Sighing he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, number Ten was Jason." He smiled. "Firestarter, dark-side, he was everything that made Kristina attracted to him. Funny thing was, he hated her."

Raphael pouted at that fact, his dragon peeping and flying over to Ian, perching in his hand.

Ian smiled at the dragon. "However this little one didn't hate Kristina in the least. I think that's what made Jason a little bitter towards to her. She didn't follow him around or anything like that, but she always loved shaming him. She fought better than he could, could wield weapons better than he could and when she foresaw something about him she threw it in his face. If she was trying to get him to love her, she only succeeded in making him hate her more and more. He wanted to win, just once, just to win over her so he comes up to me. I was surprised, but I agreed. Normally I trained those who surpassed Kristina, but I thought it was best to watch her get knocked down a few notches. He went off to fight her and the funny thing happened. In fact, I don't think it was even coincidence this happened."

"What, what?" Raph was perked, and he threw a pebble at his grinning orange-clad brother.

"Kegan and Aleksey somehow managed to get in the middle of the fight and shouted something. Both of them managed to make the fighting couple lose their concentration and Kristina landed on to the floor, dragging him on top of her. It was the most awkward yet funniest scene...I remember it like yesterday because she shoved him off of her only to have him land back on top of her. I think Jordan was to blame for that." Ian replied amused.

Raph blushed and threw a bigger rock at Michelangelo this time when he started giggling, "Shut up…"

Ian thought about it and then shook his head, "Anyway number Eleven was Kevin. Oh my god…" He groaned as he held his head. "If I thought Kegan and Kristina were the death of me, Kevin was hell. Him and Kegan were the worst out of the worst. Pranks were played, I barely could keep my guard down for even peaceful moments. Thank god Natalya had that uncanny ability to calm Kevin down and made him work on something other than torture."

Ian winked over at Mikey. "He thought it was completely and undeniably hysterical to ruin my files and to screw up the training schedule. However, it was always so surprising that Kristina went the lightest on him. No one never knew why. Being the Defender she never showed mercy to anyone, but any time Kevin looked at her, she was manipulated to his will. Hell, he managed to get her to play some."

"Oh wow," Brianna laughed and Mikey only beamed hugely.

Ian thought about his words and sighed, "Lese was number twelve. There was a war and I knew that it was something that I wanted to do. I got severely injured and the medical team saved me. She walked through the tent flaps and I wanted to groan. Here I was in a cot, lying with bandages and I could barely look this pretty lady in the eye. I was pathetic and getting myself hurt? Well, Vampires naturally heal quickly. She took off the bandages and nearly screamed. My wounds, completely gone. My thirst? Not even quenched. I didn't dare to drink from her, instead I told her what I was and asked if I could leave. She said go for it. And I left. I always came back and she didn't talk to me for a while. When I finally asked her if I should stop coming by, she said she liked my company. I promised her that once she got out of this war and back into reality, I wanted to show her something. Boy if Kristina was mad about Karolina and Jordan being together, she nearly strangled me for falling in love with Lese Freemen…her maiden name."

Ian sighed, "Years went by and I thought she forgot. Kristina was certainly pleased with the thought. She called it infatuation. Karolina kept telling me to hold on, to wait just a bit longer. I nearly gave up when she walked right through the door and saw us training. We just ceased exactly what we were doing, like we just suddenly froze in a moment of time. She wasn't at all shocked. Instead she asked if we were all vampires. I answered that and told her I was the only one. She smiled and decided to help Alekesy with the healing, since our wounds could get too much for me. It turned to be a life-saving thing when we started getting more and more people. Soon I had no choice but to expand, and I had to team up with the other Covens I knew that were lying around from my travels from the war. They agreed that shelter from the humans was going to become critical and knowing that I had a Seer and a Priestess it made them a little more reliant. Every one of us built this city and built the abandoned buildings with every shred of being we had. Our hopes and dreams and everything are in these rocks, in the paintings you saw coming in, and all sorts."

"The city wasn't finished when we gained members. Karolina and Jordan had a daughter. Indira and Tyler had two boys and one girl in a span of two years. Kristina and Jason, who finally got married and admitted they liked each other after she nearly killed him for the fiftieth time, had a daughter as well. Natalya and Kevin had a son just the same time and same date as me and Lese had Nicky. It was on that same day Lese became a vampire." He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"You keep talking about some sort of burden," Nao finally drew them back to that topic.

"There's no easy way to put this." Ian said softly. "My son will not take the throne, and I know he'll only reign until he comes up with a plan to get it off his hands. I also know that you are the second family I have in this life. I can't tell them, but I will put this on your shoulders. To put it blunt, I'm not going to live to see the end of the war."

Rachel just bowed her head. Matt and Andrew both looked at each other, neither of them gaping or surprised. Ian smiled thickly, "My lock's coming undone I suppose. My thoughts are becoming easier to read, aren't they Matt? And my future…you can see it now can't you Rae?" Neither of them spoke and he looked away. "It confirms everything."

"Ian..." Bria finally slipped out of her family's grip and stood, going over to the fountain and climbing up to where he was, "Ian...is that why you've been so gloomy?"

"Not really gloomy as in reminiscing." Ian replied as he looked at her with a gentle smile on his face. "You all have a right to your history, and once me and Lese are gone you won't have anyone to explain it to you. I took that upon myself. To show the reincarnations that our dream had come true." He shrugged.

Matt sighed, "You ruin such good moments Ian." She reached up and tugged a bit of Andrew's hair. No one in the group had an idea of what to say until they saw a flash of red and Ian was hugging someone tightly against his chest. "You just told us we're going to lose Fireside."

"Not lose." Ian replied as he stroked Rae's hair. No one was sure if she was crying or not, her whole body was still. "I'm telling you guys how to save it."

Bria gulped and jumped down, going over and also hugging Rae. She watched as Hekihari went from Ian's shoulder and nuzzled Rae's hair, peeping at her stubbornly.

Rachel ignored it all. "It's not fair." She said bitterly into Ian's chest. "I can't lose you too."

"I'm not dead yet." Ian said soothingly. "But I am telling you that I'm going to. Very soon." He could hear her sob and he held her tighter. "This is always going to be your home. All of yours." He said firmly. "I will not leave you or any of you abandoned because I didn't have enough sense to think before I pass on."

"You will live to see the light of the New Beginning," Brianna said firmly, "I have not Rae's Sight, but I have my gut, and that's what it's telling me. Painful, but quick, in the light of a New Day. We have a ways to go, sweety," she rubbed soothing circles on Rae's neck, "How about we enjoy the time we have instead of having it loom over our heads like a shadow?" she put her hands on her hips stubbornly.

Ian gently let one arm leave Rae's back and reached and gently ruffled Bria's hair. Rachel gently left his arms and covered her face with her hands. He watched her for a moment, knowing she was trying to get a grip of herself. When she emerged and she wiped away the last of her tears, he bit his lip. "I think I'm going ask Ella for something for you to drink. Dreamless sleep." He gently told her. "So that you don't break anyone's bones with a nightmare." That colored her cheeks and she looked like she was torn between being embarrassed or being ashamed. He smirked. "That got you to stop crying."

"You're a wonderful brother." Rachel said sarcastically.

"There we go." Ian grinned.

Hekihari peeped and flew in front of Rae's face, letting out a caw/whine, and nipped at her nose, licking her cheek. He shook his body and the rest of the sparkle came off, making a design smaller and with less design as Raph's, but you could easily tell they were connected by something more now, and Hekihari's crystal eyes watched Rachel for a reaction.

Rachel blinked as she looked at the design that the dragon gave her and Ian looked like he was about to laugh. She looked at Ian, plainly confused and he decided to show her a little mercy, "Well, now anything your lifebonded is feeling you're going to feel it too." He said with a smile, "At least the sulking part. Jason never told me what this little dragon can do, but I suppose we might find out."

"Oh you are a trickster." Rachel said poking Hekihari gently on the nose before she gently grabbed him and let him nestle in her arms. "But an irresistibly cute one…we should go back up to the warehouse before everyone thinks we moved down here."

"Good point," Raphael smiled, and everyone else agreed.


	13. Payback

Payback

Brianna laughed as Michelangelo tore open the box and held the new video game like it was the last one on earth, "You have been waiting for that thing for _ages_," she shook her head and put a hand on her hips. It was an off night at the warehouse and everyone was lazing around, taking a much needed break. Although, Hekihari was immediately a new favorite addition to the group and the little dragon was currently resting on Sam's head.

"It's the best video game in the world. Even the graphics are out of this world!" Mikey said happily as he placed the disk to the side and was currently working on getting the remotes ready for the four player game. "Who wants to play with me?" He called to the room. Matt and Andrew were currently looking over a magazine, Ella was resting against Andy's chest. Ellie, Jacob, Ian, and Lese were all in patrol and Nicky was somewhere as well.

Sam and Electric glanced up and looked at each other. "I can't play." Electric said holding his hands up. Sam rolled his eyes and shooed the dragon off of his head. "I'll play it with you Mikey."

"Sweet! Who else is going to?" Mikey asked eagerly. Leonardo and Raphael just looked at each other and Leo shrugged. "I'll play too."

Donny was sitting on the couch, Lily sleeping curled up on the pillows on top of the couch. He bookmarked on the book that he was reading and shrugged. Well, it would be better than trying to read the same book for the hundredth time. "I'll play."

"Me, too!" Raph grinned and watched as Hekihari just peeped at Sam and flew the two feet over to Electric's head and curled up there. He laughed and joined his little brother at the big couch where the videogames were played.

Mikey happily passed out the remotes and got the game all set up. "Let's play!" He cheered. "This is going to be so much fun!"

Bria grinned as she watched the four get ready and she walked over to the couch Don just left, Rae coming in from the kitchen and Lily had slid down to sit up and stretch, knowing she wouldn't get much sleep with the boys playing. She poked Rae, "I'm still getting used to the fact you're drinking more and more tea now."

"He doesn't like coffee. I tried and got sick." Rachel sighed as she rubbed her stomach, feeling the child move around, "It's funny, he's mostly quiet, but when he's awake he never lets me rest. I nearly fell out of the bed last night, he kicked hard." She turned to Bria, "How about you?"

Bria blushed, "Doing good. She likes to move around a lot which makes me wake up because it feels weird, but she's good about the kicking. She only kicks when I'm spacing out and need to pay attention or am having a bad dream," she giggled. "She also kicks when Leo is feeling for her. She's a daddy's girl for sure. He's fallen asleep a lot recently with his head on my stomach because he loves listening to her heartbeat."

Rachel smiled warmly at her sister and gently sipped at her tea. "Doesn't this bring back memories?" She asked as she nodded over at the four boys, "When we got freaked by those two?"

"Yes!" Bria grinned evilly, "Wanna get them back? Hey! Should we get Nao, Lily, and Matt to join?"

Rachel thought it over. Well...it would be fun. She turned to Bria, "Should we?" She asked with a shrug. "It would be fun."

"I'm in," Lily smiled since she was next to them.

Bria stood, "I'll go ask Nao," she said and bounced off.

Rachel went up to Matt and gently rested her head against her shoulder as she looked at the magazine that she was holding. "Matty." She whispered in the blonde's ear. Her gothic Lolita dress was frilly and had some bows, but there was no doubt she was rocking the dress nicely. "I wanna play a game with you." She complained.

"What game?" Matt asked as she looked up and Rae gave her a wicked smile.

"Oh wow, I can only imagine what that smile brings," Gabriella murmured to Andy as Matt let go of the other end of the magazine and she had to grab it.

Andrew looked up to see Rae and Matt rushing off and he sighed as he looked back to the mag. "Ella, be so thankful they're not together anymore."

"I'll take your word for it," Ella giggled and snuggled into his chest a bit more.

Brianna was waiting for Rae and Matt with Lily and Nao by her side, "Awesome, we get to attack them all," she grinned hugely.

"Ready?" Rae asked with a smile.

"I can't wait!" Matt whispered excitedly.

Nao and Lily nodded, "Sure!"

Bria giggled softly and listed to the boys playing their game, unaware of what was to come. She and Rachel led the way and they managed to stay out of sight. Now, they got into their positions, waiting for the perfect moment.

They got into their positions, waiting eagerly. When the bullets rang out in fire, the girls jumped onto their respective loved ones. Screams, remotes flying, and an unplugged gaming system was among the wreck of bodies.

Bria landed on top on Leonardo, her hair resting around them and she grinned, "I told you I would get you back!"

"You did." Leo said with a small kiss on her lips. "You didn't have to scare me though." His heart was beating a thousand times in his chest and he heard a slight scream and looked over to see Rae running off, Raph chasing after her with a pillow. He laughed as he gently placed his hand on his cheek.

"Brings back good memories, huh?" Brianna giggled and leaned into his hand, but looked around. Lily had Don in a big hug while he was laughing, and Nao was poking Mikey, who was laying in a heap as he mourned over his unplugged game.

Matt and Sam were wrestling on the floor, their lips sometimes crashing, but other times it was mostly "You scared me you damn person" or something close to an insult or worse. Leo smiled as he hugged her tightly. "I know."

"I don't remember being hit by a pillow!" Rachel shrieked as she over-heard Leo and Bria's conversation.

Leo laughed as he kissed Bria's cheek ignoring her completely.

"You chased me with one!" Raphael clarified from behind Rae and managed to tackle her to the ground.

Bria laughed and kissed Leo back, "Oh wow, this is quite an off day," she nuzzled her nose with his, but then blinked when she saw Raph dragging Rae upstairs. She blushed furiously, "Well, well…"

Leo merely laughed and even Matt and Sam started to crack up. Oh poor Rae. Raph was going to get her back somehow someway.

Nao giggled and watched Mikey, "I'm sorry, Mikey," she apologized.

"I should have expected it." Mikey sighed as he rubbed his head. "It's cool, Nao. Bria and Rae always said they were going to get back at Raph and Leo for doing it to them."

Nao hugged him, "I thought it would be fun to join…I didn't think it would get unplugged."

"It's alright." Mikey said as he hugged her back. "I'll just re-plug it in. It's alright."

Donny was pretending to scowl at Lily, "Why did it have to be me? When did I do this to you?" He teased her as he petted her ears.

Lily purred, "You need a fun scare once in a while," she rubbed her cheek against his chest.

"A fun scare?" Donny asked with an eye-roll, "As if I don't get those on a daily bases." He gently reached and kissed her on the lips, sweetly, gently, but passionately.

Lily responded easily, "Yeah, from Mikey, but not from me," she countered and kissed him again.

"That's true." He murmured against her neck as he gently held her against him as he sat up. "Need some help Mikey?"

"No, I got it." Mikey replied as he put the remotes away and made sure his game wasn't ruined.

Donny just smiled and turned to Lily kissed her lightly and helped her up from the ground. "At least you had fun doing it."

"Sure did! Now, I wonder what Raph's doing to Rae," Lily grinned mischievously.


	14. Payback p2

Payback p2

Rachel laughed as they entered the room. Her head was light and she felt him crush her against him, mindful of their child. They looked at each other before they kissed. "So why did you bring me up here, chasing me with a damn pillow?" She asked fondly.

Raph kissed her ever so gently, "I thought…it was time to repay you, for something you did for me," he put his head to her neck and dragged his tongue along it, hoping that would bring back a particular memory.

Her body went still and shuddered. She remembered this. Her fingers gripped on his shoulders. "I remember." She said breathlessly. "You did this to me…and I went down on you. Back when you were a turtle."

"Sure got the neighbors going," Raph smirked and nipped at her nose, backing her up towards the bed, and then he ran his hands under her shirt, "Let me," he rumbled, "Please?" he repeated her words, their tone and everything about that situation forever etched into his mind.

Her heart started beating rapidly and she nodded, her cheeks flushing. "I love you." She said gently. "Do what you will…" She whispered hotly. "I trust you."

Raphael took off her shirt and tossed it somewhere, and then unclasped her bra, letting that disappear as well. He set her on the bed, letting her wrap her legs around him as he kissed her, his hands roaming around, sending shivers up and down her arms, her back, her sides and then he touched her face gently, tracing her eyes, cheeks, lips and jaw before he trailed down her neck.

Her whole body was turning into a pleasurable mush of jelly. Every touch he gave her, made her relax. Every soft scratch of his nails that went down her skin made her shiver and moan. Every time she caught his eyes, her stomach felt as if it was on fire, and her heart was the fuel for it and his touch. God his touches were the cause of it. "Raph…" She whispered softly.

Raph brought her hand to his mouth, adding a new gentleness to his gestures and movements. He kissed her fingers, lightly licking at their salty taste, and he kissed her palm, circling around the whole hand until no place was left untouched my his mouth and tongue. Then he reached her wrist and kissed her life veins which were purple against her skin. He sucked and licked, looking at Rae who suddenly moaned. Had he possibly found a new sweet-spot?

Rachel had watched him kiss her fingers and when his tongue danced around them, her heart was pounding, but when he kissed her wrist and sucked, she couldn't help it. Her eyes nearly rolled back as she groaned as he continued to suck against her wrist. No one touched there, and he found it. She swallowed thickly. "Hmm…" She hummed against her throat, nearly purring and moaning at the same time.

Raphael furrowed his brows when he felt scars under his tongue, and he pulled away to see the markings dancing across her skin, even further up her arm, like she not only cut, but abused herself, "Rae?" he questioned, concerned.

"Hm?" She asked, her mind was a little blurred from the pleasure, but when she saw what she was looking at, she tossed head to the side, "Kitchen accident."

Raph bit down on her skin, his fangs making a new permanent mark, "Don't lie to me," he said firmly, but pleadingly.

She gasped, her body arched just a bit. She looked at him, watching him. "It's how it started. I was playing with a knife and slashed my finger." She shrugged. "It felt better than the punches."

"Punches…?" Raph sighed and licked the blood away, lightly sucking, before he continued up her arm, making new notes until he got to her shoulder. From there, he took her other hand and repeated the process, finding the said kitchen scar, but sighed and kept going, stopping to suck at her wrist.

Rachel could hear his disappointment, but decided against yanking her arm away. It was too pleasurable, it was too wonderful to give up. "Should have said something," She muttered softly, her mind going back into it's haze. "Sorry…"

Raph trailed up her arm to her shoulder again, this time going to the sweet spot at her neck. He scooted up further and to the pillows, sucking and kissing everywhere, and then his hands went to her belt, undoing it and then after he popped open the button he pulled down the zipper, "It is ok, Rae," he assured, "As long as you stopped…?"

She wasn't sure if the child kicked her or if she jerked. Either way, she moved violently as if she was trying to hide a secret. Her eyes looked at the wall that was in her line of sight. His fingers were so close to her, so dangerously close and his question. "After I found out I was pregnant I stopped being violent towards..." She trialed off. "The cutting is just a bit shallower though. So I don't go through that whole loss of blood phase. More of a paper-cut thing." She said softly, wondering if he was just going to leave. Probably ask her to either abandon the child or he was going to take him away from her. It was that thought that made her heart and the fire she felt grow cold. She didn't want neither of those two and she certainty didn't want Raph to just leave her. However, the truth was the worst possible thing to go up against.

"Never," Raph heard her thoughts and kissed her, "You still don't get it, do you? I love you. I would never do that to you," he pressed his hand between her legs and gulped when he felt how wet she was. He nipped at her mark, "I'll never leave you or ask you to leave. I would also never take _our_ child away from you."

She closed her eyes and visibly relaxed. The fire went back up as if it had been starved for attention. She felt him touch her in her area and shuddered. She wanted to breathe, but she could only come up with a moan. "I know." She said, her voice nothing but a breathless mumble of words. "Please." She whimpered as she felt him tease her, playing with her.

Raphael put his hands at her hips and managed to wiggle the pants down along with her underwear. They joined the other clothes in the world that didn't penetrate theirs. He licked up her inner thighs but left before he reached her core and traveled from her stomach up to her breasts, "I'm going to pay you back as much a possible for what you did for me," he murmured the promise as he cupped her breasts in his hands and softly rolled them.

"What I did for you?" She wheezed out in pleasure. She wanted to groan, to moan to do something other than just to sit there. Rachel turned her head so she could look at him. "You'll have a lot to catch up on then. For that I mean."

"Mmhmm…" Raph smirked as he licked and sucked on one of her nipples, squeezing and pinching the other, "I figured that, babe," he rumbled and winced as he felt himself being strained in the confines of his clothing. However, he remembered she had stayed fully dressed back then, so he decided to tease her like this, too, "That's why I said 'as much as possible'," he switched breasts.

She sighed gently. Her eyes were starting to stop seeing the world, but were just focused on him and his touches. Her body fully aware of every move he made. She could feel him against her, straining to get out. She whimpered when she felt him suck against her breasts. They were getting more and more sensitive since the child was going to need them soon. "I know…that this is a little random…but we need to think of names." She said, groaning and letting out sharp gasps in the middle of her sentences.

"Thinking of names while you're in a state that makes you stop thinking?" Raph raised an eyebrow at her, "You'll get a headache from that sort of thing." He licked between the valley of her mounds and rolled them both before going back to one, his knee going between her legs to press against her clit.

She let out a sharp gasp, whimper, and then she moaned. Her whole body arched when she felt him rub against her like that. However he was still touching her, still kissing and licking her. "Sorry." She said smiling a bit from the pleasure and from the logic of what he said.

Raph enjoyed how firm yet still soft her breasts had gotten from being pregnant, and he flicked one nipple, watching how it hardened even more, if that was possible. He felt himself strain and decided to at least take his jeans off, and felt some relief. He went back to her and while he massaged her mounds, he buried his nose in her short hairs, breathing in her scent.

She let out a soft groan and a whimper as he nuzzled her. Her whole body was just on edge, wanting him. Her mind was in a haze, a complete blissful haze that didn't seem to end. "Raphael…" She whispered his name, her tongue dancing on each syllable as she said it. If anything, it made her need him more.

"You're pleasure only," Raph said gently and ran his hands along her sides, feeling their son kick when he ghosted over her stomach, and then he just held her hips as he took his mouth and flicked her clit with his tongue.

She pursed her lips together as she let a whine sound from the back of her throat. Her mind went completely and utterly blank from his speed of a lick. She wanted to grab him, to make him forget about paying her back, but it was too good and her body didn't want to obey her. Her desires meant nothing when her whole self was controlled by pleasure. She had no words to give him. Nothing. All she could do was whimper when he ignored her, and moan when he gave her something enjoyable to work with. "Only?" She managed to squeak.

"Mmhmm," Raphael hummed and licked her more, sucking at her clit and then using his tongue to mimic his member. He groaned and decided to screw the fact she had clothes on that night. He ripped off his shirt, enjoying the blast of cool air on his sweat-covered skin, and then while he went back to pleasuring Rae's center with his tongue, he shimmied off his boxers.

She looked at him and nearly growled in pleasure and approval. In fact, she probably did, but she didn't care. She groaned softly as he teased her, pleasured her. She licked her lips, feeling how dry they were from her ragged breathing. Her mind couldn't work. She felt her body arch a bit when he finally sucked on her center and she held back a scream.

Raph felt the gems on his face burn, but not painfully. He had a feeling she was close, "Come on, Rae…" he vibrated against her and winced when he felt his own coils tighten, wondering if with the new power he had with Hekihari included them always being in-tune…

Rachel groaned and whimpered. He continued to pleasure her and finally she just couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't hold back. After one rough suck, she came screaming his name.

Raphael managed to catch the first wave of her orgasm, but then he felt her release hit him and he sat up on his knees, gripping hers as he cried out and felt the explosion ripple through him and onto his mate's body. He faintly noticed her gems were glowing and wondered if his were, too, "S-Sorry…Rae. W-We're…ugh…connected in m-more ways than…one, now."

"It's okay." She said breathlessly. She didn't mind, hell, it made sense. All of their thoughts were going to be connected, all of their emotions. "Does it hurt?" She asked gently tracing the marks on his face and looked up at him, "I guess you paid me back."

Raph smiled gently and gripped her hand in his, "I'm fine. I wanted to do more, but I guess this was enough," he leaned down and kissed her, "Want me to get something you can clean up with?" he asked with a sigh, feeling how sticky and gooy his seed made her skin. At least it didn't get into her hair…

Her child moved around frantically and she giggled. "How about me and you take a bath or a shower?" She asked in a seductive purr. "Then you could, I don't know, carry out your mission I suppose." She happily brought her arms around his neck and gently kissed him.

Raph smirked and rolled them to the end of the bed, where he stood and picked her up bridal-style, "I rather like that idea," he nuzzled her and kissed her hotly and then headed for the shower.


	15. Matt's Story

Matt's Story

Raphael yawned and stretched as he came down the stairs, his stomach growling and he heard Frances and Ellie in the kitchen cleaning up dinner. He hoped there was something left somewhere…Looking around he noticed everyone else had either passed out on the couches - specifically Michelangelo and Nao - or had gone upstairs to their rooms. Matt, however, had taken up the magazine abandoned by Andrew and Gabriella, and Sam was on the couch watching late night TV. He waved to Matt, deciding he would talk to the cross-dresser in a second, "Ellie, Fances? Any dinner left for little ol' me?" he smiled sheepishly as he peeked around the corner.

"I was wondering when you were going to come down." The dog-shifter said as she turned to him. She quickly took a plate from the microwave and touched it. "Let me heat it up for you. Is Rae not coming down?" She asked as she set the timer to let the plate heat up just a bit so he could enjoy it warm.

"I…uh…kinda wore her out so she's unconscious for the night unless Kane wakes her again," Raph blushed.

"You named the kid?" Frances asked as he turned to look at him in surprise. "Does she know?"

Ellie jabbed Frances on the side. "I'll keep a plate for her just in case she comes down looking for something. God knows she needs to eat if she's going sustain herself and her child." She shook her head. The microwave beeped and she opened it and touched the plate. Warm. "If it still feels cold to you, let me know and I'll eat it up." She said as she took out a knife and a fork from the drawers and handed it to him.

"Thanks, Ellie," He took the silverware and the plate, taking a bite, "It's good," he assured and then looked at Frances, "She murmured it just before she passed out," he answered.

Frances blinked and Ellie didn't look at all shocked. The human-neko nodded his head, "It's a good name." He assured gently to the ninja. "You can eat that in the living room if you want, its going to get hard trying to eat that while standing up."

"Okay," Raph smiled and waved before going back out. He decided to plop down next to Matt, "Hear Rae's name for our kit?" he asked spotting the twinkle in her eye.

Matt looked up, her eyes a bit wide and she looked back at the magazine. "Ah, yeah I heard. It's a nice name." She said gently as she found a place to stop and set it on the coffee table. Sam blinked looking at his boyfriend/girlfriend. That was weird, usually Matt would be jumping all over the place if she heard about the name. "Do you guys have a middle name yet?" She asked, curiously, ignoring Sam's questioning look.

"No, just Kane for now," Raph smiled at her and took a bite, "I never got to ask…" he set the plate down in his lap and pulled Mat's hair up in a makeshift ponytail, showing the him to the her, "What made you go from Matt…" he let the blond hair go, watching it fall over her shoulders, "To Mattie?"

"Did you forget already?" Matt asked with a laugh. "You told me yourself that I was destined to be a cross-dresser."

Sam snorted, "I don't think that was the question he was asking, _Mattie_." He poked her shoulder teasingly.

"I never told you that," Raph was confused but he picked his plate back up and took a few more bites of his dinner.

"Not directly." Matt said as she looked at him. "But you said it in enough words to catch on." She paused as she leaned back against the couch. "So I took your words and found how much more comfortable I am being like this. Besides, I can always turn back. It's not like I got myself a gender change or something, but I like it like this. You just had to push me a bit. Maybe that's why you're a good ninja, your subtle when you want to be."

Raphael raised an eyebrow and swallowed, "Wait…was this back during that week I stayed over?"

"Yep," Matt nodded with a smile. Sam just stared blankly, wondering what memory lane they were traveling on. He had a feeling he was going to get an answer later, for now, it was best to let the two talk. Who knew? Maybe he would find something out about whatever. "I'm surprised you forgot."

"Can you blame me? Lots of stuff has been happening," Raph shrugged and ate some more thinking, and then swallowed, "So…why'd you do it?"

"Why did I change? Why did I hurt Rae?" Matt questioned as she looked at the T.V. Seeing someone crashing their car into the side of the road made her wince and turn back to Raphael. Sam just had to pick the weirdest shows to watch. "Why did I change my job? Narrow it down!"

"How about…" Raph looked at him squarely, "You start at the beginning?"

Matt blinked at a bit and she nodded as she flipped her hair back, "You saw the cuts." She said simply. "She covered them up pretty good didn't she?" She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "They were there when I was around too, but I guess they got worse when I broke her heart. It's understandable. Alright. I'll tell you my story. I think I'll tell you a bit about myself first before we go into me and Rae's relationship. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Raph nodded and took a bite, shifting so he would be in a better position for storytelling.

Matt thought about her words, thinking them over. "I was born in New Hampshire." She said slowly, "To a mom and a dad. My mom, well she liked her alcohol. Everyday when I came home from school, she had a bottle of wine or whiskey, sometimes some vodka, and drunk as hell. I never remembered if she took showers or not. She never cared about me. My father, he liked to screw around with women. Two up to five girls. Stringing them along and beat my mom when he came up. Mom didn't care, she hit right back." Matt rolled his eyes. "I was never touched. Never. Not to help me get dressed, to brush my hair, to do anything. I had to learn for myself."

"As for when I learned my abilities my parents were getting themselves into a fight. Now I have bad temper. Had a bad temper. My bouts of anger were pretty bad. I was in frequent fights in school and my teachers could barely calm me down. Anyway, my dad and my mom were arguing over something really stupid. I don't remember what it was. What I do remember was that somehow, someway I heard this voice in the back of my head among all the buzzing I normally heard, screaming and raving. At first I thought I was a little buzzed from an afternoon drink I had, turned out I wasn't hearing voices. My father thought my mother was a waste of space and my mother blamed me for my father's anger. But it wasn't what they were saying at all."

"Wow…that's harsh," Raph winced and let Matt continued as he finished up his dinner.

"Reality is always harsh. Anyway, I told them what they thought." Matt smirked widely. "Oh the look of horror on their faces told me everything I needed to know. I read their minds. And there was no way to reverse it. That was also the first time I got hit too. My father back handed me so hard, I crashed into the fridge. Still have the scar on my back from it. It's a thin cut from my shoulder to the middle of the my shoulder blades." She rolled her eyes again and crossed her legs. "I left as soon as I could. I had a friend who had a single mother and as long as I could pay rent or get a job or something, I was welcomed there."

Raphael nodded and quickly went into the kitchen to put the plate away. He came back and sat back down eager to learn more.

Matt waited for him patiently and continued with the story with a soft smile, "Well, I was leading up to my last year of high school when I finally had enough of the silent bad talking and blew up at nearly everything. Got myself expelled and got myself kicked out again from the home…Let's see…I also managed to find out my mother got herself drunk enough to kill herself and my father also died. So I was an orphan and…well…social services were looking for me. Oh I never liked them." She made a face. "They take away more than they give to you. Anyway, I had to move frequently. I picked alleyways, abandoned stores or buildings; I mainly slept outside when it was nice out. The moon and the little bit of stars that I could see was more than enough."

Raph nodded and quickly went into the kitchen to put the plate away. He came back and sat back down eager to learn more.

"I learned how to pick-pocket and I made sure to keep a good eye on my money. Well, one day I didn't have anywhere to run to. It was pouring rain and I couldn't get to a nearest shelter. So I hailed a cab and asked to take me to the airport. I went to the baggage claim area and sat there, waiting for the storm to pass. I heard some of the flights got canceled and felt a little sorry for the people who got stranded. I didn't at all pity them. That's when I met Rae."

Matt leaned against the couch, thinking about the first time. "She reminded me of a twelve year old girl. She was wearing a black mourning dress and her hair was chopped short to her shoulders, she had two streaks of purple on either side of her face. Her brown eyes...lifeless. She reminded me of..me." She sighed as she started picking at her dress. "I watched her stand at the machine that rolls the luggage out to these racks and spins them around so people could grab them without needed to lift much. She just stood there, still as a statue...then she turned to me and I just froze. The look in her eyes just scared me. I had to say something though, so I mocked her. No...not mocked. I took her and broke her a little. I teased her. She didn't say a word, just let me tease her. Let me mock her. I was worried. So I had to ask why she wasn't responding. She told me that everything I was saying was more than true."

Raph frowned, "What'd you say?"

Matt looked at him. "You look like you're in mourning for your own lifeless corpse." She repeated back her words. "And I bet your worse than dead too. Maybe you're…I dunno…a devil or something."

Matt shook her head. "I said more than that, but I think it was that whole sentence that made her say what she said." She looked at the screen. "I don't know nor recall all the insults I flung at her until I finally stood up and shoved her. I watched her fall and I frowned at her. I told her that if it was really true, then why wasn't she dead. She told me, and I swear that I think this is where I began to change, was that she was probably already dead. That she wanted to be." She ran her fingers through her hair again. "I stayed silent and saw that she was looking at the rack. I watched her get up, grab her baggage and sat down on a chair far away from me. I sat down next to her and she stiffened up."

"I asked her what made her think that and she said told me that it was true. No one wanted her around; no one cared to think about her. It was similarly close to how I felt. To how I knew myself as…I told her that maybe it was time to do something about it. It turned out that she was going to live with her aunt, so I hitched a ride with them and ran off when I could. I came back to visit, trying to get her to see things different, and I started seeing things different too. She told me about her abilities, I told her about mine. She told me about her life, she cried nonstop when I told her mine. It was so weird, I couldn't describe to you why I changed or anything back then. I taught her how to be daring and she taught me, though I don't think she knows this, how to be a part of a family again."

Raphael smiled fondly at that last part, "I understand your relationship a bit better now," he admitted, "Sorry, you're not done yet…I just wanted to say that."

"Broken people somehow find a connection to one another," Matt said softly, "It's why we're bonded so tightly."

Sam rolled his eyes, "You're not done." He poked her again and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anywho, weeks turned to months and she started smiling more. The first thing she called out when she ran out the door wasn't a hello, but a I'm so glad your here, or my name or something." Matt smiled as she looked at the memory. "She was still insecure but she wasn't shy. She learned how to speak her mind and to be blunt. And I learned to use a filter with my brain even then that sometimes comes out bad. I'm more of a blunt person than anything." She rolled her eyes. "I can't tell you exactly when I first started to love her, but I can tell you how dreadfully nervous I was when I reached out and held her hand. No words, no cheesy confessions, and she gripped my hand back and smiled at me. It was more than enough."

Raph smiled rubbed her shoulder, understanding Matt's feelings considerably, "Did you meet Andrew next? Or did something else happen?" he asked curiously.

"We didn't meet Andy until we went to NYC. Some contest that Rae magically won. Well, we weren't about to forsake a ticket out of a routine life. Anyway, we learned pretty damn fast that to survive on the streets you needed wits and a whole bunch of them. We didn't have a gang and we were easy pickings for those who wanted to do something to us. Ian found us first." Matt turned to Raphael. "He told us that if we wanted shelter, we had it. We came in here, and watched them fight. Rae got inspired and who was I to deny a bit of fighting here and there? We had fun, but god we had our asses handed to us. Ian trained us, taught us, and was patient with us. He taught Rae how to watch an opponent and to copy their movements to memory. I learned how to use my abilities and I with practice was able to send images and soon, I could send mental videos of anything I wanted anyone to watch. We fought against the Defenders and Rae got the number one seat and I unhooked Jacob from his second seat."

"Ian wanted a branch." Matt continued. "But he didn't know of anyone he could send. Me being telepathic, I went first, but wherever I go, Rae went too. With her Sight, we managed to be a duo team. Our first mission, to get some sort of abnormal from a gang. We managed and we also managed to grab some vital information. After that we called ourselves the Informers."

"How Rae became Lynx? How that happy girl turned back to that shell cased hollow woman? Simple." Matt nearly hissed out the words. "She got herself out numbered for a lone mission she swore up and down that she could do. She killed seven people, all with a gun. Ian never even taught her how to shoot. I guess living in the desert you learn."

Raph frowned at that, "Explains how she knows how to handle a gun…"

"Anyway, after a few missions and good payment, we started to advertise ourselves to other gangs. That's when the big money started rolling in and we were able to leave Fireside and get our own apartment. Soon the Informers didn't seem as if they were tied to one gang anymore, but an independent and dangerous gang. Around that time, that's when we met Andrew."

"Nice," Raph chuckled, "How'd he get into the doctor business?"

"He was in it way before me and Rae even touched him. Having a doctor around was also pretty vital." Matt said with a shrug. "Well…this went on for a bit. Andy wasn't all happy about being ordered around by a fifteen year old, smart, cold, and calculating murderess but she paid him well so he didn't complain...became a brother to us...it...rolled down. I remember when I first proposed to Rae. She was turning sixteen that week and I wanted it to be special. I told her to marry me and she said yes...god I wish I could take that back." She sighed as she leaned forward and rested her elbows against knees.

"She trusted me. Loved me. I trusted her. Loved her. She hid nothing from me and I hid nothing from her. It annoyed Andy, but he knew that it was from being together. Anyway…" He licked his lips and said, "I got drunk one night, terribly drunk…and woke up next to a guy. Turned how I had totally hit on him and flaunted myself to him pretty much." She rolled her eyes. "Being a stripper I could understand that, how I managed to get into bed with him? I didn't know. Funny, it turned out I enjoyed it. God when Rae found out, she blew a fuse, but she forgave me…she really wanted this to work out."

Raphael frowned and folded his arms loosely, thinking this through, picturing it in his mind. God…how horrible that would be…

"Well...I started to figure out that all of the touches I gave her, didn't affect me. Where was the warmth I felt when I touched that man? Where was the heat that I wanted? I told Rae the truth…I told her that I didn't want to marry her...that I didn't love her the way she wanted me too. I told her that I moved to fast, that I should have really thought things through...I killed her in the end. We fought, screaming at each other. We called each other some really bad names. We insulted each other, we tore down our egos...I made her bleed." Matt bowed her head. "She ran out of the apartment building and Andrew tried to go after her and we spent the whole two weeks searching for her. We never found her. I presumed she moved away...but Andrew was more worried that she managed to get herself killed or something. We never thought she was alive until Andrew got a phone call from her…and you know the rest."

"That name she murmured was what we were going to call our first kid. Kane if it was a boy, Rune if it was a girl." Matt replied with a shrug. "It's why I wasn't surprised…why no one is."

Raph took a deep breath at the information, eyes widening. He leaned back against the couch, chewing at his nail in thought. So…that was how it all turned out in the end. Closing his eyes he ran a hand through his hair, "I have a new respect for the name now," he said gently, "I understand. I can't sympathize with anything you went through besides the loving her part, but I understand."

Matt looked at him and smiled gently at Raph, "I think she would still want you to name the child. She has this real firm belief that the man whose going to father him/her has to give at least one name. Middle or first," She shrugged. "So…yeah…" She shrugged again and smiled. "Thanks for listening to my story. Hope I didn't bore you much."

"Not at all," Raphael grinned, "It's nice to know more about those I care for," he ruffled her hair, "Thanks, Matt." He couldn't hold back a yawn and smiled sheepishly, "I should get to bed so Rae doesn't wake up to an empty spot," he stood up, "You two sleep well, too...Hekihari," he said and watched as the dragon went from Sam's head and landed on his shoulder. He petted his head and waved at them before heading upstairs.

Sam watched him leave and looked back at Matt, "Does it still hurt?"

"All the fucking time," Matt responded softly.

Sam thought for a minute. "She still loves you, you know. I bet...she's waiting."

"She better move on." Matt replied sarcastically. When Sam didn't respond, she looked at him. "You're serious?" At his nod, she rolled her eyes. "Sam, she's never going to leave Raph. She's married to him. Unless he kills or something, she's going to stay bonded to him. She needs him...that's her rope now."

"I know." Sam said softly. "I just get worried."

Matt shook her head, "I don't need you being all insecure too." When she heard him laugh, she chuckled and said softly, "But I'll never deny that I think that me and her are always going to hurt like this."

"I would be highly worried if you two weren't hurt at all." Sam replied honestly as he made her lean into his arms and kissed her head. "Why don't we follow his example and go to bed?"

"Sure." Matt agreed as she stood up. "I need the sleep."


	16. Accidental Shooting

Accidental Shooting

Valentine's Day….Oh what a terrible day for the group of friends and family…

Raphael and the others were having a drowsy, un-energetic day. The weather was horridly dark, grey, and gloomy, and that made all their moods the same way. Ian hadn't come down at all, so they weren't pressed to train, though some were currently doing so just for something to do. As for himself? He was sitting on the couch watching Rachel flip through a book, different from her journal but similar…a book filled of her view on some memories of the past.

At this current point in time, he supposed she was glancing through the memories of when Anya had been in town. Raphael glanced towards the stairs, remembering acutely how nearly everyone that morning had nearly pounced on Gabriella when all she did were simple glances of mainly confusion. The only ones not affected were Donatello, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rae and Jacob. Yes, he had failed against the spell. Ellie was best, best friends with Gabriella, so it didn't quite surprise him the dog-shifter had kissed her. Lily and had only pecked her on the lips and then snapped out of it, but it was still considered a fail, and then Sam and Electric…

Though Sam was quite abrasive, Electric was gentle. Raphael supposed it was because he was sub-conscious about his power. Gabriella had gained at least a light sunburn from Sam's passion exploding. He shuddered, also remembering the mutual agreement not to say a word to Mattie who was at work. He thanked Kami the hair-stylist hadn't been there this morning.

Of course, after Sam burned Ella, Raph had watched Andrew blow up in ways he'd never seen the doctor do before, and then Andy had carries a whimpering Gabriella back to their room. He listened and heard soft sighs and then cries that could only belong to Gabriella. He supposed that not all things about this day were bad. At least…he smirked; Andy got to have loads of fun.

Rae momentarily stopped in her book to look at Raph. His facial expressions were passing as if he was thinking about something or was practicing an act that required a quick change of features. He shuddered, he sighed, he smiled, he frowned, he smirked, all in a rapid pace. It was fun watching him as well as listening to his thoughts. She returned to the book, her own smile playing at her lips as her eyes scanned the page. Her fingers idly played with her hair as she read the words. Sometimes she had to bring it a little closer to her before she pulled it away. Some of these memories...she sighed as she fingered one frayed page, were so easily forgotten and some…she flipped the page, she wished she never written down. They were her memory books. Her journal held all of her visions, but this was a memoir, something that she could easily share with Raph and not worry so much.

She turned her head upwards and watched her husband. Her tongue gently traced her lips as she watched him. Sixth sense told her that something was wrong. Something cold had settled itself deep inside her core and she knew that Raph probably already knew, for their connection was so deep. She looked back at the book, trying to concentrate, but finding it was hard to. She gently placed the book on the coffee table and reached over to Raph's hand and snuggled up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her sixth sense was hardly wrong...so then why couldn't she get rid of it?

Raphael was about to cuddle her back, but then there was a hard smashing on the door, since they had locked it, "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR, DAMN IT!" an unfamiliar voice shouted deeply in frustration.

Brianna looked up sharply, "Tyler?" she muttered in confusion and stood from her position lying against Leo on the floor since they had wrestled and then got tired.

Rachel blinked and got up swiftly before anyone could do anything. She swung the door opened and she stared in complete shock until her other personality took over. "Who did this?" She demanded coldly. Jason was lying on the stranger's back, blood spilling as if it was a waterfall. His leg was busted, and his face and hair was matted with blood. "Get him inside." She ordered. "Lay him down on the couch." She pulled the door wider and stood out of his way. "Someone get Lese or Andrew!" She snapped, knowing that order was going to be obeyed even if she hadn't said anything.

Bria was already heading up the stairs, and Tyler watched her go. He watched a Neko come up to him and after she put her hands on Jason, her hands glowed. They got to the couch in which an orange-covered man and a dark brown haired woman had cleared off. He set Jason on the couch as instructed by he could only guess was Lynx. He backed up, the Neko roaming her hands over him while the woman's hands did the same glowing thing with Jason, "I was instructed by him how to get here before he passed out," he told another woman who came from the kitchen.

"That doesn't explain how he got so wounded." Ellie said swiftly. "Jason isn't a fool, to be this wounded, he would have to be taken off guard. What happened out there?"

Tyler frowned and watched as a disheveled and half-dressed man and an elegant woman came down, one stumbling while the other glided. He could guess this woman was a Vampire, everything about her screamed it. He noted all of them were waiting for an explanation so he sighed and flinched when the Neko managed to get a bullet from his shoulder and drop it to the ground before she started healing that injury. He guessed if Bria was with them, he could say the truth instead of hiding names.

"I was sent to Jason by Nerieta who is the leader of the Aka Ryuu, an anti-gang of which I am a part of. She wanted to make an alliance, but due to personal issues, she sent me to hook up an appointment. Everything was going smoothly, we even went for a walk…but because it's so dark outside, and the thunder's rolling in, neither of us noticed the ambush waiting for us," Tyler explained and then bit his lip harshly when the Neko pulled out yet another bullet from his side, and then started working on the wound.

"Who ambushed you? Foot or someone else?" Nao asked as kept the blood from pouring while Andy held Jason down and Lese used her magic to take out as many bullets as possible.

"The Water Snakes," Tyler hissed through his teeth and looked away from the scene.

Bria felt her head spin and she clamped a hand over her mouth, "Oh god…" She sank against the wall. She knew those bullets were familiar… "Lionheart…" she whimpered, closing her eyes against the flashes of horrible memories.

Lynx watched as Leo reached and hugged her tightly, both of them were scarred from the memories and she didn't want them to go through with it again. Everyone in the room seemed to have stiffened up quite a bit. Lese stood up using her vampire-like speed, startling some of the people that were surrounding her. Her eyes were narrowed. "The Snakes are no longer the Majors. They should have disbanded because they do not have an heir. Did someone decide they were worthy of Hector's title?" Her voice was deadly.

Tyler shank back a bit, not willing to fight a vampire, "Yes, someone fought to get the title and after taking down the entire squad, a man named William stepped up. His last name is unknown…but after spying…I was rather terrified. I don't do major jobs, but within the past week I've gotten my ass ripped up by a male Neko like her for even straying into this territory by accident, nearly got shoved off a ten-story building for I called upon the wrong person, nearly got run over by a truck since the driver was insane, _this_ close to being buried alive because someone lead me to a warehouse that was being blown up, I spied on the Water Snakes hide-out for info, and now THIS! I just want to lay down on a couch, even a nice fluffy carpet and pass out. I don't know anything else about William, just that he's bloodthirsty, ruthless, black hearted, yet has that gentlemanly personality. Even put underneath as much pressure as anyone else would to snap, he didn't stop smirking."

Lynx watched him for the longest time as Lese seemed to also calmed herself down. She simply waved him to the other couch, knowing full well that he was going to take the offer. Lynx took a deep breath as she recruited his information in, "Bloodthirsty, ruthless. She turned to Lese, "This is up my alley. I want this."

"Rae, are you sure?" Raph asked, concerned.

Lynx bit her lip and turned to him. "Rae doesn't have any control over this. And yes, I'm certain." She turned back to Lese. "Lese, you're Ian's second in command. When he's not around, it all falls to you," She bit her lip harder. "I never once begged for a job, I never once complained about one. This time I am begging, if I must, my hands and my knees will touch the floor with my head down. I want this job."

Lese watched her. Lynx was right, it all fell to her and never had she had the power to wield this assassin. It was always Ian. Now blood was going to indirectly stain her hands. She clenched her fists. "Go." She put all of her command into that one word. "I want them gone, in any means possible."

"As you wish," Lynx snapped to attention before she flew out of the room, reaching the basement in record time. She grabbed the holster that had her gun in it and tied it around her waist as she made her way back upstairs to fly through the front door to get to the Water Snakes' territory. William. Bloody and ruthless and one of a kind…He was someone who would possibly make a real good opponent. Not only that, if Tyler could get that much information and have this many problems in one day, it meant their security was down. It also meant that they were wired up…and that was what she wanted.

Raphael clenched and unclenched his fists, gritting his teeth. No...something twisted up his stomach and he could only guess it was panic, "Damn it..." He looked at Andrew, "How bad?" he asked, looking over what Andy was bandaging on Jason.

Andrew looked at Jason and looked at Raph. "Borderline death," He told him, "If Tyler had decided to go to the hospital instead of coming here." He narrowed his eyes. "Are you thinking about following her?"

"I feel nothing but dread about this situation, and my heart is in my throat," Raph swallowed thickly, "I can't let her do this alone…better to let you be prepared though," he smiled weakly and then after putting on his trench coat, he disappeared out the door. Lynx had found a last minute loophole in the connection, and she was mostly blocked from her thoughts, but her feeling of excitement he used to drive his speed faster. He hated guns, and if Lynx got too trigger-happy he feared for her, Rae, Kimiko, and Kane. Four people he could lose, including half of himself, making the death toll four and a half. He couldn't handle such a thing, and even thinking about it made his chest hurt.

How long had it been since she walked through territory that was so familiar to her? She edged close to it, seeing all the guns in the windows, knowing some were empty and some had people in it, waiting. Oh, she was quite certain that someone spotted her. No one was stupid though, if Lynx walked around, they knew that either she was on a job, or she wanted to see who was taking over. She was their key, and she damn well knew it. It was going to be quite easy, walking through and getting in. She could easily wave at them...ah...but that's where the fun really begins. She knew that if the Water Snakes had a new Leader, how much was she willing to bet that so did the methods? She was probably un-trusted.

In fact, she was probably target one. She could either bring them up high or crush them and she knew that if the old members were around, they would very well know that. Too bad Tyler didn't have time to tell her who was still in the Water Snakes and who wasn't. Finding allies was going to be quite a challenge. But did she want allies? Easy answer: No.

She fingered her gun, wondering if she should try sneaking through or shoot at the two most likely windows and hide from the rest. That would make everyone show their hands, she could hit them down, walk right in...if there wasn't a guard stationed at the front door. If there was, then she would have to shoot fast.

She drew her gun out steadily and placed it to her side. Option two sounded a lot better. In fact, it might make William wonder if she was apart of a gang. Hmm...She pressed herself tightly against the wall and brought the gun up to perfect aim. The two windows that she was looking at from where she was standing at two silhouettes walking around. They were either talking, barely glancing at the guns. Easy targets. She shot one down dead and the other was just about to race to the automatic weapon when she shot another bullet. Down that person went. Now that everyone heard gunfire, the men ran up and aimed towards where she was hiding, she ran down the alleyway and turned and went down another one, in the same territory. She skidded to a stop and once more got her back to the wall. Two guards, all aiming at this alleyway. They shot and she took off running. She felt something hit her leg, but she ignored it. Adrenaline was much stronger than any pain medicine. She could feel blood tickle and she knew it was just a small wound. She received worse.

She got herself to the wall. It was by both of the alleyways that she went down on. The guards would keep an eye on this alleyway and now the Water Snakes were going to keep her cornered here. That meant that either they were hoping she would run or they were going to let someone investigate. She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out as she kept her gun to the front, ready to point, aim and fire if needed.

"Well, are you the famous Lynx?" called the voice of a gentleman. A slim shadow appeared and glassy, bright blue gaze looking down the alleyway.

"Well, are you William, new leader of the Water Snakes?" Lynx retorted.

"I'll take that as a yes, but no need to be cross," William smiled at her and walked closer, "It's a rather pleasure to meet you, Lynx."

"And you." Lynx said slowly. Oh Ian would probably kill her, but hell. "Since I can very well guess you are William." She didn't dare lower her guard nor did she drop her gun to the side. She kept it firm. "Forgive me, but after being shot at and shooting, I tend to find it difficult to keep a relaxed posture." She said, knowing very well that she was treading one fucking unstable ground.

"I understand," William nodded to her and stopped, "You want to know something? This might inflate your ego, but you were my idol and reason for being who I am today. I was rather sad when you disappeared for a few years."

Lynx blinked once, then twice, and then three times. Oh…wow. "I'm going to guess that you were once a part of a gang." She said slowly as she watched him carefully. "Why did you idolize me? I don't understand what is…there to idolize." She shrugged. She never understood people and why they looked up to others, besides for leadership and direction.

William bowed gently, "People talk so much about you...your allure, your sheer power by word of tongue and force, and the way you can manipulate another to be either your enemy or your ally. Your hair shines like a blood red moon, your eyes like cooled lava, so seemingly innocent but meaning sheer doom. It's all so enthralling to me," he grinned at her.

"Your words are like honey and sugar to my ears," Lynx said with a small smile. "You are inflating my ego and I should admit, I feel sorry not to know much of you. All I hear is rumors, and I know how very untrustworthy they are. Bloodthirsty, ruthless, and yet I see a gentleman in my midst." She lowered her gun arm slowly, not putting it back to the holster but was hanging at her side and in her hand. "I believe the alluring one should be you. Compared to me, you're the quite an enchanting man and I am just a common thief."

"Common thief? Surely not," William allowed himself closer to her, "The way you obtain information like you do is just so mysterious to me, because you're there and then gone. No one knows you've stuck until it's simply way too late. Then how you use wires and poisons? You are most certainly a cunning goddess," he grinned brightly, "As for myself, dear Lynx, I only did what I had to in order to get this position. I wanted so badly to meet you, but I figured the only way to draw your attention was to cause trouble."

"That you did," Lynx said with an eyebrow raised. Now this was an interesting turn of events. "I'm quite impressed with how you got the Water Snakes back up so fast and how quickly you became one of them. A natural chameleon you are. It's a shame I couldn't get to you quicker."

"A shame it is," William nodded in agreement, "By the way, dear Lynx…may I ask about the two men that skidded by this territory?" he flinched.

Lynx blinked at him before she decided to put the gun away. She was a quick draw. "Tyler is apart of the Aka-Ryuu, my older sister used to run that vigilante group but stepped down in favor of a more...peaceful life I suspect, even though peaceful has been far from what I'd call it. As for Jason, he is one of the Two Majors, unfortunately they have yet to nominate a third to take the Water Snakes' place. Ah, don't get me wrong," She said watching William carefully. "After Hector, they're a little weary of the alliance shaking up again."

That was more truth than lie she'd ever say. "Why they decided to do this I don't know. Jason I believe wanted to find out more about the new leader. As for Tyler, I believe the Aka-Ryuu wants blood for harm of my sister. Tyler was a spy." She paused, wow, and she wasn't even being paid to say this stuff. Ah, oh well, if she could get him on her side and away from the Water Snakes and burn the hideout down, which would be price enough.

William sighed, "I had sent word to Jason using a messenger hawk of mine, and I figured that other man was suspicious. However, I assure you whole-heartedly that it was not my fault," he pleaded his case, "After I took rein over the Water Snakes, there were hard-core followers of Hector that dislike how I was starting to change things, and they became rogue snipers. I sent my men after them, but unfortunately it was too late, or so I believe. How was Jason doing before you left?" he asked gently.

"The wounds were critical, but he's being tended to and cared for back in Fireside." Lynx said with a soft smile on her face. This was such an interesting turn of events. In fact, she was unwilling to kill now. Well, if there were still Hector Fans, then that meant that loyalty to the Dragons still bled through…

At least that meant she was unwilling to kill him. Then she paused. Wait. A. Minute. Didn't he say he sent his men after the rouges? Then that meant… "Will." She said slowly, very, very slowly. "How many people can you trust in that gang? The better question should be, do you trust anyone in that building?"

"I can fully trust about a dozen give or take," Will admitted, frowning for the first time, "Many of my friends are Water Snakes, but the way they talked about how they were treated made me upset. Those are who I sent after the rogues, if you are wondering." He looked up at the night sky, "The rest…I'm very uncertain about. I've only been working with them a day or two, so I haven't developed anything."

Lynx folded her arms and her mind went spinning. "If what you say is true, then I think you're being spied on. I'm starting to thank heavens that one of your men shot Jason." She looked at William and frowned. "If you can fully give your trust and vouch for that dozen, I suggest breaking away from the rest of the Water Snakes. The Purple Dragons? Are thieves for a ninja clan called the Foot, and they are very dangerous to mess around with. We're already about to declare war on them and I have a feeling those rouges are full blooded Dragons now. They just fell back on the Water Snakes to see if they could mold the new leader into a Dragon or at least support the cause. That, is of course, a theory."

William nodded, "I understand. I'll go back and tell them…If you have the tools then I suggest getting ready to burn the hideout," he explained to her, "The moment you see me walk back out, light it."

Lynx clapped her hands together nearly excited, "I'm always prepared." She promised. "Now off with you!" She teased him. However hyper she sounded, didn't end the doubt and uncertainty about any of this. In fact, there was something wrong. William didn't shoot, the Water Snakes had him at perfect targeting range...oh shit. Her eyes widen. They had been trapped from the very beginning. She prayed this was paranoia speaking. "Will, if you have a gun, take it out and be prepared to use it. I think that dozen of your men are either completely wiped out or knocked down a few numbers..." She warned slowly. "Or they never were your allies to begin with."

William had a look of fear over his face, and he took out his gun, "I surely hope not," he told her. He twirled his gun and scanned the alleyways, pretending to be casual and collected, and then calmly walked back towards the entrance of the alleyway. Oh man did he pray his friends were alright.

Lynx also kept hers to the front. She watched William go and she backed herself up slowly, carefully. If she wanted to get anywhere near the Water Snakes, going through that alleyway wouldn't do it. Then she heard a click and she spun around. The two guards from before were already ready, lock and loaded and fired. She quickly escaped, ducking and hid. Shit, she was wide open. She could either die or…commit suicide…

Heh, as if that was going to happen. She turned to the front and shot at the nearest windows, not caring if they had people or not. She shot three, and then turned back and saw that they were right upon her. Before they could shoot, she pistol whipped them and shot one in the head before swinging her elbow to the other guys' neck, hitting it and crushing the windpipe. A another shot right and it hit so dead close to her neck, she literally felt it gaze her. Blood poured from the cut as she whirled around and shot a few times. "Damn it all.

William was also on a shooting spree, pointing anywhere he could. about five of his friends were by his side, shooting with him, and he could tell they were his because they had their jackets off, "Lynx! Shoot for the ones with vests!" he called, praying he heard her, and saw about three friends duck from her gunfire.

She changed tactics after she heard his warning. Vests. Got it. She raced from wall to wall, shooting and hiding and then trying to get closer to the other hideout, which wasn't working. "Understood." She shouted back as she ducked and then pointed again. There were only two more left that she could see from her end and one of them was a little too far for her to try to shoot, but she was going to try anyway. The other guy near was nearer to William and she knew that one of his friends probably already had him for a target. Instead, she decided to go for the farthest guy out there. She doubted her shot would kill him, but surely one of the good guys would discover him.

However, Raphael had been standing in the background the whole time, unable to get anywhere. He saw the sniper spotted Lynx and he felt panic in him. There was no way Rae could make the shot before he did, so he jolted from the shadows and went to tackle the sniper, Sai out and it sank into the sniper's chest with ease. Through the many shots that rang, he didn't hear Rachel's gunshot…


	17. Devotion

Devotion

Lynx stared in absolute horror as someone just jumped in front of her shot. Instead of screaming at the idiot, she felt something seer through her, as if she had been shot. She turned around to make sure that wasn't the case. The shooter behind her was dead and no more gunshots rang through the air. Without thinking she took off at a mad dash to see who it was she shot and if it was a Water Snake, she could easily pretend that she was trying to see if it was dead. Instead, her worst fear was confirmed and she fought the wave of nausea that made her stomach turn.

Lynx mutely got down on her hands and knees and pressed his wound. For once in her life she wished Andrew came with her or even Matt. "Damn." She hissed as she continued to keep pressure on the wound. Shit, she couldn't move and he was hurt. "Will! How strong are you?" She called to him. "We aren't very far from Fireside, so we can get there, but I can't carry him."

"Unfortunately, my strength only holds in long-range, and that's why guns suit me so well. My friends here can carry him for you, and one is a medic so he can help you keep it from bleeding badly," William told her and nodded to his friends, motioning to the red-clad man. He grabbed the sai and put it in his pocket to give to him later, "May I ask who he is?"

Lynx was torn between answering it with the truth and answering it with a lie, "My husband." She decided to say, watching as shock ran its course. "Yeah, it's a surprise to me, too."

"I can see you two are linked, you have the same facial gems," Will nodded with understanding, "He no doubt feared for you, and came to help, but was unable to get near," he offered as a possible reason the man was there, "What's his name?"

"Raphael Hamato." She said as she scooted away for the medic and his friends to get to his side. She watched as they worked together as an efficient team and they worked very well with each other too. She felt herself stumble a few times since she was bleeding from her own wounds and from actually having a knocked out husband, but her stubbornness kept her up and her eyes focused. "You have a good aim and good shot." She told him, "You are a natural."

Will supported her, keeping an arm around her waist, "You're better than I am, of course," he smiled, "You didn't even aim and you shot them down. I thought that was amazing." He looked towards Raph, "Raphael Hamato…I heard of him. He and the other Hamato family make great word around the streets. The Foot knows them as colors, and the Dragons found out their names. From there, word spread. I didn't know the Goddess Lynx hooked up with Raphael Hamato."

"Lots of practice darling." Lynx said as she looked at her shoulder wounds. Now that the adrenaline was coming down, she was starting to feel the pain a whole lot more. Thankfully, she kept her wits about her and stayed awake. They probably would need a guide back to Fireside and she was the only one conscience enough to do something like that. "I can show you some tricks as to aiming." She told him. "As for me hooking up with him? I did and I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Will asked, confused.

"Let me see." Lynx said slowly. "Ever heard of multiple personality disorders? Think of it like that only you have two that used to be alive and the other is the original host of this body."

William blinked, "Oh really? That's interesting. So who's the host of the body?" he asked rather interested.

"A young girl named Rachel." Lynx replied with a slight shrug, "She's the one who's actually married to Raph."

"Don't you like him?" Will furrowed his brows, "I hope you do, because if you didn't, it would be rather pointless…"

Lynx looked at Will and smiled thinly, "That's a good question...I don't know the answer to that one either." She looked back down to the pavement. "I know it sounds as if I'm trying to push the subject away, or avoid it somehow, but...it's the honest truth. Rae always had doubts, but she still stuck with him and Kimi never had any doubts about him or about herself. Of course, neither of them have any at the moment, but I suppose...knowing who I am and what I'm capable of, I see things in a different perspective. Nothing is black and white in my mind, but always a nice shade of gray. That is probably a good reason as to why my allies and my enemies can easily be switched around so quickly. There's no evil or good. Say the right words, the nice sweet words they want to hear, and you have them. Say the wrong ones tear them apart, and you got them where you want them. Of course...that power alone can hit you back."

"I suppose, using that logic, what I'm trying to say is that I can love him. I can fall for him. The question isn't a can or can't. It's a will and won't." Lynx sighed as she rubbed her forehead. The loss of blood was starting to hit her heard, as if she had been drinking way passed her limit. Everything was starting to get blurry. She had a feeling her real regional accent would be coming out soon.

"And even though I just pretty much just said I'm allowed a little bit of faith, allowed to indulge myself in what others have, I won't. Why? Because of what just happened right in front of me…What I just did just now. It could have easily been somethin' else, and I know people don't like the coulda-shoulda-woulda ranting, but if my bullet can hit him…another person can do the exact same thing. I gave him no protection; I gave him a death sentence. He knows it. And for some odd reason he won't get it through his thick skull that I…I don't want him 'round that stuff. Sure, he's a ninja, he's been around the block, but I ain't going to be the one that…drags him further down."

William looked at her and tightened his grip a bit because he felt her wobbling, and he took a cloth and pressed it to a wound closest to him, "Perhaps he's "head-over-heels", dear Lynx, that's why he won't leave you?"

"For me?" Lynx asked with a small glance at him. "Or for Rae and Kimi?" She smiled again and shook her head. "There isn't an answer for that." She sighed. "I know, you want to know more, but I'm startin' to lose a lot more strength talkin'." She was apologetic. She wanted to keep talking, but it was starting to get increasingly difficult to trying to find the words. It was harder to keep a train of thought when her head was starting to turn, buzz, and slowly go numb. "When we get inside Fireside and Andy's done stitching me, I'll be up for more talkin'."

"However, I don't want you to go into shock," Will said firmly, "I need to keep you talking…So yes, I mean you…He may feel the same about the others, but for you he is determined."

"An' why do you think that?" She asked her words were starting to slur and her accent was becoming a little more noticeable. "He's always like that."

"Have you not noticed, dear Lynx? I may have seen him jump and take down that Water Snake, but after going over the situation and learning who he is, I see so much more," Will smiled and leaned down, picking her up bridal-style, "I'm sure Raph would kill me for holding you like this, but it's easier for the both of us than a piggy-back ride or another way to hold you," he laughed a bit, "Are we close to Fireside?"

"Two more buildings, turn left and then continue straight." She instructed. "I notice a lot of things. Just that one particular thing doesn't stand out to me. He doesn't really know me. He's only seen me…a few times and never really talked…besides last night."

William shook his head, "You don't understand," but he sighed, "Just…think about it, you might notice you've missed something," he smiled at her, "Only another minute, dear Lynx," he told her.

What did she miss? She felt her eyes close as she thought about what it was that she could have missed. Raph was intensely loyal to all three of them. He considered himself to be in love with her as well as with two people. What else…she didn't miss the fact that he had talked to her about that he could love her, but she shot him down. What? Was this his way of trying to prove his worth to her? No, Raph wasn't that kind of guy. He wasn't the type to need assurance, she was the one that needed the confidence and the assurance. He had that all down. So what was he striving for? What subtle sign did she miss?

William hit the door with his foot, his and his friends' hands full, "We're friends," he called, "Please, Lynx and Raphael are injured dearly!"

Frances noticed that everyone else was looking at the door quite suspiciously. He rolled his eyes as Andrew was the one to get up and open the door. He moved to the side silently as they brought in both knocked out versions of the ninja and the Informer people. No one even dared to breathe. Andrew said slowly. "Lynx isn't that severely injured and there's a room right by the double doors. Just put her on the bed and stem the bleeding. As for Raph, he goes through those double doors and can join the couch. Lese and I can take Raph and work on him immediately." His orders were firm, calm and professional. "Lily, will you help this man out with holding the blood down?" He asked. "It should be enough help."

"Of course," Lily nodded and helped William with Rachel and getting her into the selected room. Brianna came along as well, Leo and the other brothers going to look after their brother.

William sighed and stood awkwardly in the living room. He looked at his friends, "It seems you guys can go home…Thank you for helping." He watched them smile and nod before quickly leaving. He looked back upon the room and at the others, "Excuse me, my name is William Slater. I was a Water Snake, but only for about a day and a half…Please, I don't mean harm."

Everyone just stared at him, most in confusion and in suspicion but three of them were surprised, not stunned, and watched them. "Oh god." Sam said with a sweatdrop forming at the head. "I know you. Well, not personally. Well, personally. You're Matt's cousin right?"

"Has to be," Electric said with a firm nod. "She's just so...out there and look at him! He's like Mr. Tuxedo Mask."

"I don't see him sprouting a rose any time soon boys." Ellie responded, but was also sweatdropping, "But I can see the relationship and why she talks about him so highly."

"What the heck are you guys going on about?" Mikey asked looking over at the three who seemed to be relaxed and not even stressed about the chaos that was going around them, "He's a Water Snake!"

William brightened and grinned hugely, "You know my dear Mathew?" he bounced a bit closer to them but was wary of those who still looked at him strangely.

"Of course we do." Nearly the whole room said. "She's with Lynx." Sam and Electric said together.

Mikey just blinked for a bit. "I'm going to guess ex-boyfriend?"

"Oh wow, please, I'm straight," Will rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Sam laughed warmly. "She told us. Well, she hasn't told them, but us yeah." He turned to the others. "Ninjas, guys, you don't have to be so uptight. Will is a natural spy, but his word is good as yours." He promised them. "If he says he's a friend then undoubtedly it means Lynx has plans for making him into an Informer. Otherwise she would have told him to drop dead or leave her dead or something of the sort."

"You know, I always wondered how come Matt seemed to be so eager to start or be in a gang." Ellie said with a slight muse. "Seeing her idol in person though takes my breath away."

William laughed and blushed a bit, "Thank you, miss. Will you please introduce yourselves? It would be nice to address you by your names."

Lese leaned against the window, watching the sleeping boy. His bandages were wrapped and the wounds were mainly healed. He would have to be careful for weeks or so, depending on the wounds healing process. The double doors opened and Ian walked in, practically gliding across the floor since his feet barely touched the ground, in an attempt to keep the boy asleep. "Jason and William managed to tell me everything. They'll be staying here for a while."

"I see." Lese whispered softly, feeling guilty that she had nearly condemned Will to death. Matt's cousin and someone who was trying to do the same thing she and Ian had tried to do; keep the Water Snakes from coming back. She fingered the hem of her soft shirt that did a low V to show a bit of her breasts. Her velvet purple pants were comfortable enough to walk and sleep in, but as for right now, falling asleep wasn't on her agenda. "He's injuries are so bad Ian…" She murmured.

"He won't wake up easily, but the injuries, though could be fatal, weren't bad. It was a good near miss." Ian assured. "And the bruises and cuts are superficial. Andrew even said so." He reached for his wife's hand and gripped it tightly. "Although I'd be surprised if he wakes up sooner than normal, I wouldn't dare say I didn't expect it. He has a strong will." He paused. "Are you blaming yourself for last nights incident?"

"I'm not made to be second-in-command." Lese replied with her head bowed. "I wasted three lives today. Or I could have, all because the vital information I needed to properly planned was locked away since Jason was asleep and Tyler was doing something for the Aka-Ryuu."

"The Aka-Ryuu is merely a group of people wanting to put an end to the violence and misery by using violence and misery. You can't blame them for wanting to put their own spy to Water Snakes' place, nor could you blame Tyler for taking Jason with him. It was bad fates today." Ian gently gave his wife's hand another tight squeeze. "You did well, for a beginner."

"Well? You call this chaos well?" Lese asked mournfully. "Though I don't like calling people an object, I damaged Lynx and I should have stopped Raphael from going after her. In addition, I should have waited until Jason was awake. I was hasty."

"Ah, but sometimes it's very fatal not to be. If I was placed in your situation and I was thinking along the very lines you were, love, I would have done the same thing." Ian replied gently, "You didn't ask Lynx to kill anyone, you told her to get rid of the problem using any means necessary. If I had been you, I would have ordered them all dead. Will wouldn't be among us." He sighed, "You killed no one. The injures everyone received are fixable."

"So, what about Brianna?" Lese demanded, "The young girl and her lover were traumatized by the Water Snakes and I only made it worse!" Ian shook his head, but Lese pressed on. "They won't believe Will for a second. Once a Water Snake always! It will always be a motto to that couple!"

"Will isn't apart of the Water Snakes though." Ian said softly. "He's apart of the Informers and everyone knows that Lynx and William will make a great assassin team. Not to mention, that is what the Informers are. They gather information, destroy it if asked, keep if needed, and if anyone has to die so they can get it...well...it's apart of the job description. Also, don't forget Will was our ally even before he joined the Water Snakes. Bria and Leo surely will take that into consideration and hopefully will warm up to him. After all, Jason and Will seem to have an alliance and Jason is good friends with Bria and Lynx. He wouldn't jeopardize them unless he thought they could handle the situation. He knows what the Water Snakes means to Bria. He wouldn't do something to make her hysterical on purpose.

"You're talking about a weed-smoking, drink-binging man," Lese said with displeasure. "But I see your point," She admitted.

"And that, sweetheart, is what I wanted you to see." Ian said with a slight smile. "Come, let us retire. Raphael can do without you watching him. I'm sure Andrew will be frequently checking up here time and time again, as well as Donatello."

Lese nodded mutely and let him guide her out of the small living room. Her head was about to turn, to look at the couch one last time, but she changed her mind. She done her damage. There was no way she could make amends, without forgiving herself first and when Raphael woke up, she could apologize with grace. It was all she could do.

Raphael waited until the door had shut again and after another small minute and sure they were gone, he allowed a small groan to escape his lips. "Kami I love them all to death, but I don't require their constant checking-up on," he muttered and sat up, wincing as the wound on his lower shoulder flexed. Well…it was between his spine and shoulder, because of the way he was angled, and at the speed he had used.

He rotated his good arm until it popped and sighed when it did. Raph stood and stretched his legs, sighing, "I wonder where Lynx is..." he mused and walked out of the room, seeing Matt passed out in one of the large recliners, a blanket tucked around him as he snuggled against it. Sam was unconscious on one of the couches, and Andrew and Don were talking on the other couch with soft music playing. Smiling, he went over to them, "Hi," he greeted nervously, wondering if they were going to yell at him for walking around.

Andrew and Donny both looked shocked at him. Donny was the first to say something. "Why are you up?" He hissed, knowing very well that if he yelled there would be a few people upset, "If there was something you needed you could have called for us, not get up and walked around!"

"I've had to lay there pretending not to be awake and feel Lese's distress, and then to her and Ian talking. I was just waking up last you came, Don, but the Lese popped in and I knew she would smother me in apologies," Raphael sighed, "I also heard the TV still on when Don came in, and didn't want to deal with the others. Seriously, Bro, chill. It's not like it's fifty miles from the room to the couch."

Andrew smiled at Don and shrugged, "He has a point, and the shot wasn't to his leg, but his chest. Though I would advise you to at least rest once in awhile. Why are you up?" He pressed the last question a little hard. "Surely you're not bored enough to talk to two medical geeks are you?"

"My legs were stiff, and I'm…weak. I need to be with Rae, or Lynx...or whoever is on the outside right now," Raph ribbed his forehead. Since the Lifebond link had kicked in months ago, he'd had to come to terms with admitting weakness more and more, but he still hated saying it.

"Lynx's in Matt's room, probably doing some breathing exercises or still asleep." Andrew said gently as he stood up. "I absolutely forbidden her to leave the room, although I doubt she heard me. Do you want me to help you get over there?"

"No. I'm injured, not crippled," Raph rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs, hearing Don jump up and watch him from the base until he knocked on Matt's door, "Don, go to bed, I'm fine. Andy, you too…I know Anya's left a while ago, but Gabri is no doubt lonely," he called down gently. The men sighed in defeat and Andrew was the first to leave. Donny hesitated, but with another small glare from his older brother, made him think and grudgingly leave.

"Come in," Lynx's voice said. It wasn't the usual harshness, but relaxed and tranquil for some reason. When the door opened a little wider, relaxing Native-American music came through the speakers that she was listening to. Her body was stiff and postured, however she looked like she was in peace, "Hello, Raphael."

"Hi, Lynx." Raph greeted with a smile and walked in, closing the door and locking it. He sighed and walked to her, still smiling, "How are you feeling? You didn't get hit-hit like I did, but a lot were either through-and-through or grazed you rather deep."

"I could be better I suppose." She said as she opened her eyes to look at him. She watched him for the longest time. No matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't figure out that determination. She knew now, though it wasn't very subtle, that Raphael was battling for her to love him. Somehow, someway. She bit her lip, she had a feeling that her train of thought was wrong. Surely Raph knew that once she rejected him, he was suppose to give up. Swallowing thickly, she continued to concentrate on her breathing as well as the conversation.

"I'll never give up on you, Lynx. I won't force you, but I'll keep trying," Raph smiled weakly, "No, I didn't read your thoughts, I don't even know if you were thinking that. You somehow blocked me out when you left to the hideout. It's hurting in more than one way, though," he admitted and rubbed his eyes that were dark even though he'd slept a long time.

Lynx bowed her head towards where her clasped hands sat in her lap. Her crossed legs tightened and she felt her head buzz. She wasn't sure of what to think or what to say. "Will...a new member of mine…made me really think today."

"I heard an unfamiliar name while Lese and Ian were talking…William?" he pursed his lips, "Was he really trying to clean up what Hector did?"

"If Jason says he was, then he was." Lynx replied easily. "I was knocked unconscious and you were on his friend's back. If they wanted us dead, they easily could have us." She looked back up at Raph and found that she couldn't really look at him. Her eyes averted away, "…I…you…you frighten me sometimes Raph."

Raphael was taken aback. He blinked with a slightly open mouth, "I'm…sorry?" he replied, uncertain. He went over to her and sat next to her. He took her hand and placed a tender kiss on the top, "Whatever you need to say, don't force yourself. I'll be here to listen, I'm that devoted to you, I promise."

She wasn't willing to pull her hand away from his tender grip. Nor was she willing to really continue the conversation, but the words flowed, "How can a relationship continue when a personality or a soul has a doubt? No matter how little or well hidden, how can a relationship be a relationship? I never had an answer, I still don't." She continued to keep her eyes focused away from him, "You're so in love with me…with Rae and with Kimi…I begin to wonder what it is I'm really pushing away. Your love, you, or is it my love? Is it myself? I'm…so frightened to just leap. I see Rae and Kimiko down there, happy. I'm content to just sit on the cliff, but you keep scaling it."

"That's because I'm too fucking stubborn to just have one or two of you. I want all three. I need all three of you. You're flaws, your hates, you hobbies, your tastes and talents…sword, wire, dagger, poisons or even…guns, as much as I hate the damn things," Raphael touched her cheek softly, stroking it, "I can and will become an extremely sappy guy and hold you, kiss you, tell you I love you and whatever else you need to truly hold you in my arms." He smiled, "Tell me you doubts, and I'll do my best to brush them away, and if you cry, I'll kiss your tears away as well, or at least lend you my shoulder."

Lynx looked at him half in wonderment and the other in complete shock. She bowed her head and her hand that gripped his tightened its hold. "I'm scared," She said in whisper. "I don't know what to do. What do I do? What do I say? What can I do? I don't want to lose you, I don't want to be a burden, I don't want to hold back, I don't want to watch you or see you die. I already saw that enough, when you jumped in front of me. I don't want to watch you suffer like I made Andy. I don't want…"

Lynx just fell apart. Her shoulders started shaking, but she held back her own tears. For the first time she ever knew, she was crying, "I don't want to ever see you suffer anymore. That's all I'm doing, isn't it? Making you suffer," She continued as she let his hand go.

Raphael took her hand back firmly and leaned forward, air kissing her, touching yet not touching her lips, and then he kissed her eyes and cheeks, willing the tears out, "Unfortunately, I can't back down out of this war, or we would be off to find somewhere to live, and I'd join that college I met Marco at," Raph murmured and held her close to him, "My wound wasn't your fault, it was mine. I jumped in front of you, certain that if that guy had shot, he would've killed you first, and you were at the perfect angle for a...headshot...where he would've just gotten a shoulder wound."

Raph nuzzled her neck, "You can say you'll try to love me, you can hug me back, cuddle with me. You never were and never will be a burden. You won't lose me. Don't hold back. You only make me suffer when you're not letting me in. Even best friends trust each other, hold faith with one another."

Lynx hugged him tightly as she felt her tears fall faster. "I don't have to try to love you." She told him through her sobs. "I always have."

Raphael inhaled sharply, milk chocolate eyes widening. He held her tightly and felt the link return like it's rubber band had been stretched too far and it finally snapped. He was soon crying with her, feeling her pain, her wonder and thanks, and her happiness even though she was sobbing. Nuzzling her, he kissed the mark he made, "You're welcome, my dear. I love you, so very much..." he allowed a relieved shaky breath out and he imagined catching her at the bottom of the cliff, "Welcome to the Valley," he murmured to her.

All she had to say for that was a strong, deep kiss against his lips. She didn't have to pour anything into it, because he already knew through the link of her feelings. _'It's a nice place to be.'_ She thought, knowing very well that he could hear her. By all she the powers she knew of, she prayed this link would never leave.

_'So glad you could join,'_ Raph chuckled mentally and kissed her back, too tired and sore to take it further, though his strength had greatly returned. He pulled away after a bit for breath, "One request?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yes?" She asked with a bit of wonder and a soft smile playing at her lips. She wondered, just what she had been missing, before she just let herself fall. "What is it?" She wanted to purr.

Raph laughed and rubbed her cheek, "Teach me how to shoot a fucking gun so I can watch your back. I don't need any fancy tricks, just teach me how to hold, aim, and fire."

Her mouth dropped open. "O-of course." She stammered. "I'll be happy to."


	18. Idol

Idol

William stretched and looked around. It seems he missed breakfast, and Jason was just finishing up. Nearly everyone was gone except for the Hamato brothers minus Raph going into the training room. Three women followed them as well as a bird transformer. Ellie was clinking and clanking in the kitchen, and the TV was on, Sam sitting in front of it, "Where did Electric go?" he asked joining him, "You two looked inseparable. Is Matt at work, too?"

"Matt's at the salon and Electric decided to run off to make sure Lisa's doing okay. She's studying to be a teacher at the college and I guess she's having a nervous breakdown about a test of some sort." Sam said with a playfull eyeroll. "Of course we are, if we weren't then I don't think we'd be called twins anymore."

"Twins?" Will asked, sitting down next to him, "I just know your name, but I know nothing about you. Matt's surely talked about me…care to even the odds?"

Sam merely blinked, "Um…how far back do you want me to go?"

"Er…First explain to me a little about yours and Electric's connection, and then if you don't feel like explaining more on that, you can skip to when you first met my Matthew," William grinned.

"I was joking about me and Electric being twins, but we are brothers." Sam admitted as he leaned back, "Three years difference. We had a good life. We were born here, in Fireside." He said with a shrug. "Mom and dad really wanted us to become apart of the Defenders…ah…that's what you call the people inside this building. Kinda like look-outs or guards or something like that."

"Oh, that's rather interesting," Will nodded thinking about it, "Your powers? I know basically everyone in Fireside has a power of some sort."

"Firecracker," Sam said with a smile as he snapped his finger and a flame danced, "Electric…well…is exactly what he's called. My mom used to be able to melt anything. Heat I guess was her power. My dad was more human than anything. I guess when I was born I got my mom's powers...I don't know how Electric managed to get his. Probably because to start a fire you need a spark…"

Will watched the flame dance, and then his bright blue faded out for a second. He then faded back and grinned, "I see…Mm, are you the eldest?"

"Yep," Sam said as the flame disappeared. "Heaven forbid if Electric was eldest. It was hard to keep track of him, let alone handling him at his hyper moments. He's mellowed out, but he still gets hyper. I guess that's why I can handle Matt."

William laughed, "So very true. So tell me the story…how did you meet my Matthew?"

Sam looked up at the ceiling. "Him and his ex-girlfriend were pretty much homeless and Ian dragged them back in the warehouse like a pair of cute kittens. At first I thought they weren't going to be around, but when we started training it was like we lit a fire in those two. Rachel wanted to learn Matt wanted to learn, so we taught them. Ian branched them off into the Informers, Rae started getting the big bucks going and now they can be an independent gang if they wanted. How did I really meet him? Like first talked to him? They had a fall out and Matt was looking for her for two weeks until he just gave up. He stayed here for a while, moping and training than eating and sleeping." He rolled his eyes. "So me and Electric tried to get his spirits up. Of course, it worked to a certain extent. One word about Rae back then and he'd fall into pieces hands-down. He was torn up real badly. He blamed himself for lots of things and well...the best I could do was to be there for him. Helped him get a job at the salon right around the time he decided to grow out his hair and start dressing femininely. That was...wow...a few weeks after Matt started actually acting like himself again. Or well herself."

"He's always been that way," Will smiled weakly, "When he was younger, he tried to get me to swing that way. I even agreed to kiss, but he was hurt I rejected him after it, since I didn't feel anything. I did it as nicely as I could…I suppose that's when we started seeing less and less of each other, and then a job landed in my lap to come here. I took it, and all contact stopped. I regret it, really…I miss him so much."

"So he was bi-sexual fantasizing that he was gay or was he gay and somehow wound up with a real hot girlfriend?" Sam responded with a raised eyebrow. "And I don't think that's why all contact stopped. Matt was homeless when he was around seventeen. His mom and dad kicked him out. He stayed over at a friend's house before living with Rae or something like that."

"Bi-sexual trying to see what guys were like…He thought my kissing him was the best thing in the world," William sighed, "I wish I'd known, I would've helped somehow…but then again I guess Fates have their way. I still feel guilty, though."

"Will…you shouldn't regret it too much. Matt never shuts up about you. Every time we do something in training I always hear him say something about you. Whether it's something you know, something you'd be interested in..." Sam shook his head. "I think he thought that what happened was his fault and wanted to give you some space since he's the one that pushed it. Matt's a caring guy. He'd rip out his heart if someone asked him too…within reason."

Will chuckled a bit, "That is rather true. What's your relationship with my Matthew?" he asked gently.

"And…this is where everything is going to get awkward." Sam said as he shifted and sunk himself further into the couch, "He's my girlfriend/boyfriend."

William's jaw dropped, but then he laughed outright, "I figured as much," he admitted and chuckled, "I snuck down when I heard Matt come back, and saw him cling to you," he watched Sam, "You had the most peaceful expression on your face, and your eyes were soft. The look of a lover…"

Sam's cheeks went as red as his hair. "I…I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to say to this." He said as he tried to find something to focus on, "Besides admitting that this is embarrassing."

Will snickered, "So very sorry, Sam. Your expression is priceless right now. I trust you treat him well? How deep is your devotion?"

"How deep is my devotion? If it could be measured, then it's not really devotion anymore is it?" Sam asked as he ran his hands down his face and then looked at Will. "Here's a term that I like using. I can easily be his shield or his weapon as long as he does the same for me. And since I know he will, then I guess my blood goes on the ground before his does." He continued with a shrug.

William nodded, liking that answer, "How…deep has the relation gone?" he smirked.

Sam's face went back to looking fire-engine red, "We had…sex here and there I suppose."

Will laughed, "Were you Bi as well?" he asked this one mostly out of curiosity.

"Am Bi," Sam said with a shake of his head. "If I was completely gay, I think dating a cross-dresser would scare me a little. Especially if said cross-dresser thought about getting a sex change…not that Matt's thinking of doing that…or so I think."

"Having a cross-dresser is usually best to satisfy both desires," Will nodded, "As I said last night, I'm straight, so I don't completely understand, but I am good at just looking and figuring it out." he tapped his chin, "Sort of like a Profiler?" he shrugged, "I also doubt Matt would do something like that. He dislikes hospitals, and plus...that would be rather difficult and painful. Matt doesn't do pain well either. I suppose he may have changed but still…"

"It's still true, although he does like to hang around the hospital that Andy works at, only to bother him during lunch hour and to make sure there's nothing the medic needs from him." Sam replied with a shrug.

"Andy is another of Matthew's friends?" Will tilted his head.

"Of course he is." Matt said as she magically appeared from using teleportation. Her long blond hair was two braided pigtails, one with a fuzzy white hair tie and the other with red. Her blouse was red with a high color to the neck and she was wearing black slacks and high heeled boots. She was wearing just the faintest of pink lip glosses on her lips. Her blue eyes were bright against the multicolored layers of eye shadow. "Hey Will!" She tossed herself onto Sam's lap, "Having fun?"

"We're just peachy. Was there a reason for you to just land on my lap like I'm a trampoline?" Sam asked as he slid himself upright so he could hold her better and not feel like he was suffocating.

Will smiled ruefully, "Greetings, Matthew…" he shifted back into the couch, the awkward feeling switching from Sam to him, but he was not embarrassed…just uncertain.

Matt frowned slightly before sliding off of Sam's lap and watched him. "Does…do I make you uncomfortable now that…I'm like this?" she asked with a slight tilt of the head.

Will shook his head firmly, "No, never, my Matthew. You are perfect and amazing no matter what you look like, so long as you are yourself," he smiled up at her, "Please don't ever think it's because of how you look, or whom you are with. I've been doing quite well with Sam." He then smiled sadly and looked away, "I just…would think you still feel hurt…"

"We finally get to communicate after so many years and months of silence." She continued. "And that's all I wished for, was to hear from you or see you again. I thought you were upset at me."

William stood up and hugged Matt tightly, "I could never be mad at you, my dear, dear Matthew. I also wished to hear or see from you, but whenever I tried to find you, something would stop me, be it work, spy work, friends, or all, and now this…" He nuzzled her neck, wrinkling his nose at the perfume she was wearing, but tolerated it.

Matt hugged him back tightly and gently pulled away, knowing very well that William probably wouldn't like the scent of cherry sugar plums that she was wearing for the day, that and being coated with numerous amounts of lotions because Phillip gave her a massage since her arms and back had started to hurt. "I'm glad we're finally back." Matt said with a wide smile, "It's been too long. How have you been anyway? Did you find a lover yet?"

Will blushed a bit, "No, I haven't. All the women I meet just want me because I can boost their ego, or they just want me for sex. Because of this, I'm still…pure in that sense," he sighed.

"Stick around here and you'll be flat on your back with someone." Matt said teasingly as she poked her cousin's arm. "Just think positive and I'm sure there would be some magical girl running around just waiting for you, in a sense."

"No wonder Lynx likes you." Sam muttered as he listened to the conversation. "You buttered her up with words, not with your moves. That has to be a first."

"Shush you." Matt jabbed Sam in the ribs so that she could listen to her cousin's response.

"You believe me because I'm telepathic," Matt said as she pressed two fingers to her forehead and pointed them at him when she turned her wrist.

William blinked, "Telepathic? Well, aren't you talented."

"I learned this technique before I was kicked out." Matt said with a lighthearted shrug. "It's actually how me and Rae managed to connect. I mean a future seer and a telepath are a great combination. Two of us with an Empath and a skilled spy, we're unstoppable!"

"I wonder where me and Raph fit in with your guys plan for world domination." Sam replied as he grabbed the remote from the coffee table and flicked to a different channel.

"We're not really planning on that." Matt said with a wince. "If anyone's going to rule the world, the vampires most certainly will take out any competition before turning against each other."

Will laughed, "You can burn information no one is supposed to see?" he offered, "Raphael can be lookout."

"Or you can burn down the buildings. Heavens knows sometimes Lynx and I forgot how much fire power we really have." Matt admitted with her hand behind her neck, massaging the muscle nervously, "Besides I thought you were a part of Fireside!"

Sam shrugged, "True." He admitted.

"Well, if Sam's your lover, Matthew, then he has the right to chose to be with you and be a part of what you do," William told Matt.

Both Matt and Sam just turned to look at each other. They stared, then they broke into a smile before cracking up. "Oh god," Matt said as she wheezed. "That's rich." She laughed harder as Sam coughed to try to hide his, but miserably failed. She wiped her eyes away. "Will, oh Will, there's a reason to why we can't do that."

William frowned, "I don't understand…" he admitted.

Matt and Sam both took a deep breath and Sam was the one to respond. "I can never be a member of the Informers. I'm apart of Fireside and to tell the truth if I walked up to Lynx and told her I wanted to be with the Informers, her and Ian would analyze everything I do before I can start testing myself against Lynx. Even Raph won't get the royal treatment…"

"Well he actually did, since I kind of went around telling everyone he was a part of us." Matt said sheepishly. "You can always steal Brianna's nickname, she never wanted to be an Informer to begin with. She's more comfortable with the Aka-Ryuu…unless she changed her mind and I never got the memo."

"He did use Firecracker when showing me his power," Will told Matt.

"Hmm…" Matt mused as she placed a finger to her lips. "I'll have to ask Lynx about what Raph's nickname is." She shrugged. "But if you want, you can use that. I suppose it'd have to work. After all, people are going to wonder who firecracker is and Will doesn't have the abilities to really…live that name up."

"Eh…much rather stay within Fireside than to run around and hide in the shadows." Sam said with a shrug. "This is more my style."

"That's probably true and safer." Matt agreed.

Will shrugged, "What would my nickname be, anyway?"

"Well, your a spy. I'm called Waterfall or Moonshine because my telekinesis or my hair. Lynx is Lynx because she likes cats. Spiderweb is Andrew since he surfs the web. I think since you're a spy and your very gentlemanly you might get called James Bond." Matt joked.

"Or what Ellie called him," Sam said, "That Sailor Moon character."

"Uh…no," Matt shook his head.

"It seems we'll have to see what dear Lynx says. Sorry I'm such a complicated character," Will rubbed his head sheepishly.

"It took us weeks to figure out Andrew's you're not bad," Matt said with a shake of her head.

Will chuckled, "Matthew, shouldn't you be getting back to work?" he asked, "I'd like to go with you," he added.

"Of course! There's so much you should see and I can give you a haircut if you want." Matt said as she gently grabbed her cousin's hands and dragged him upwards. "We'll see you later, Sam!" She waved joyously before teleporting off with William in tow.


	19. Pipe Chat

D Pipe Chat

William was standing at the entrance to Fireside, looking out the peep window where they could look out but all the other would see was a mirror. It was sort of like those mirror/windows in those crime shows when they did investigations. He packed his pipe hole with tobacco and fumbled in his pocket for his lighter. It was his lucky lighter, because when he had first started walking the streets, he used it to light up dark alleyways, and it was a different color than normal fire. The flame inside was silver. Then the lighter was one of those flip-open ones and it was neon blue, with a silver rose Matt had etched in it.

Will stared at the fire in his lighter for a moment, looking deep until he spotted the neon green glow inside the silver flame. He saw blood-moon red hair and lava-brown eyes, and smirked before he lit his pipe with his cinnamon flavored, apple scented tobacco. Looking out the window, the spy fingered his lighter, flipping the lid off and on, thinking about recent events. The lighter was also his lucky one because during his first rumble with Lynx, a bullet grazed through his jacket, but it shot out the other side, only grazing the lighter and making a small dent. It still worked like a charm, though, so he kept it.

Rae took his silence as an invitation to come closer. Her steps were gentle and not at all silent and muffled like Lynx's. Her steps were always so carefully sounded, like the last thing she wanted to do was to scare someone. She reached his side and gently smiled. "What a nice scent." Rae greeted, her voice was different from Lynx's as well. "Apple, isn't it?"

"Hello, Rae," Will smiled gently without looking and let out the first puff of smoke, "Yeah, it's apple, but it tastes like cinnamon."

"I'm surprised you knew it was me." Rachel said with a laugh. "I thought you would mistake me for Kimiko or something." She folded her arms gently as she rested herself against the wall, watching Will as he smoked the pipe. "Ian smokes those as well." She told him. "He may have a few packets of tobacco he may wish to give to you. He always thinks it's such a shame not very many people smoke pipes anymore."

"Well, I despise cigarettes, and cigars are a bit too strong if you get the wrong brand, but pipes you can control how much you have," William grinned at her, "I saw you in the Fire," he lit the lighter, "Your eyes are very kind. From what I hear of Kimiko, she's more determined. So I just put two and two together," he shrugged, "I think when people hear pipe they think drugs. Then again, pipes are rather expensive, like mine," he held out his maple pipe with an ivory rose design, the pipe where the center of the rose would be.

"It's a pretty pipe." She said as she looked at the designs, "Roses. It seems to be everyone's favorite gothic flower. Romantic, tragic, and it still has that same inexplicable beauty." She looked away from the pipe. "It's a very beautiful pipe. Who was the artisan?" Curiosity was her strong and her weak suit, almost like her half-sister.

"I don't remember, really, but I got it because not of what it reminds me of, but who," Will explained to her, "When I first met Matthew, he was picking flowers in the garden, and when he came up to me since he was still so little and cute at the same time I was a growing teenager who had identity problems. He came up to me with a specially grown silver rose. None believe it exists, but they do to those who know where to look, or like Matthew, know how to grow them."

Rachel smiled fondly. "And to think he left that all behind." She said, nearly sounding lament. "You kept a memory of him like he kept a memory of you. It's probably why he's never lost his soul in our work. Andrew just got back to normal, and as for myself…well…I suppose I'm as normal as I am ever going to get."

"It's wonderful, I'm not saying that he should ever abandon it, nor you should toss it aside." Rachel said quickly, lifting her hands up in a surrender motion. "I ramble a lot when I'm thinking."

William laughed, "Matthew can grow the silver roses any time. They grow only from white rose seeds…and you would think also black roses, right?" he smirked a bit.

"Black roses from black seeds if I follow your logic right," Rachel nodded with a soft smile.

"Yeah, one would think that, but…" Will took out a necklace from under his shirt, "This is the silver rose bud, slightly bloomed, set within this clear resin, so it can bloom forever. It was made using white rose seeds, moonlight instead of sunlight, and blood instead of water."

"That's a morbid way of growing a flower. But then again, blood blooms the most beautiful of flowers." Rachel mused to herself as she wrapped her arms gently around her abdomen as she thought over what Will had said, "Matt seems to understand that better than anyone. He should have been a plant wielder, not a telepathic mind-blower."

"He might have had that ability in another life, who knows," William shrugged, "At least he can do something, right?"

Rachel looked at him before walking over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him against her like a sister or a lover would. A comforting kind of hug, "You sound a little jealous with that statement. I'm guessing you wanted a power like his or something?"

"Any sort of power would've been nice," Will admitted, but not in a bitter tone. He was smiling ruefully, "But instead I'm stuck with just bullets and then this to save my sorry ass," he tossed the lighter gently up and down in his hand.

Rachel let him go and shook her head. "There is a lot you can do with just bullets and a lighter. Perhaps since you're related to Matt, and you probably didn't have the proper training, you might have a power lying dormant inside of you. If not, then a brain is just as good as a power. You're smart, you blend in, and best of all…you're a part of my family now. I won't let you go because of that. Lynx surely wouldn't anyway. Heaven forbid if Ian actually demands you out of the warehouse because you're not a power-wielder. There's plenty of people that have been Defenders before the Informers were around that didn't have anything, and they were better off than the people who had powers. To be honest, I envy the ones who don't have powers. They don't have to worry about falling down the stairs."

"Falling down the stairs?" William looked at her in confusion and frowned a bit.

Rachel blushed heatedly, "I can't control my vision and one time…well…A vision hit me and I was walking down the stairs. Sadly, I can't control my body either, so it just…crumbles. I was so lucky Sam and Frances were behind me, otherwise I would have been on the ground and I'd probably lose Kane." At the mere thought made her subtly rub her stomach where the baby was before continuing, "I can see the future, as you undoubtedly already know. I can force myself to see, which is a lot safer but unpredictable since I can't really make myself see what I want to see. Does any of this make sense or am I leading you around in circles?"

"I get it," William nodded and gently touched her pregnant tummy, "You look rather cute pregnant," he smiled at her, "It suits you." He then puffed a bit more on his pipe, savoring it before letting it out slowly, "A power lying dormant? Do you really think so?"

"We could try and awaken it." Rachel said with a soft smile. "And…thank you…" The baby seemed to like Will because when Will touched her stomach, he tried to kick the hand. She giggled, "For the compliment I mean."

Will grinned, "When can we start?"


	20. Bonding

Bonding

Brianna watched Lynx/Rae work with William and Raphael in the training room. Sam was messing with William's lighter and Matt was just…there, daydreaming but also watching her cousin and the lighter. It was rather amusing, watching Sam with the silver fire, and she got a bit closer to the wards to watch them.

Matt was mainly there to help Will find a "balance" or a "center" and since Will was new and no one expected him to really keep it focused, Matt was sort of a weight, in case Will accidentally stepped off. Sam and Rae were telling him different ways of focusing. Sam pretty much was just the lecturer while Rae demonstrated what he meant or telepathically showed Matt what Will needed to see. Ian walked over towards the wards, a long thin wooden pipe with a sliver mouthpiece and a silver cup was resting against his fingers. The pumpkin scent surrounded him like an aura. Gentle but not at all strong.

Bria took a deep breath and sighed contently. She looked next to her to see Ian with his pipe, "That pumpkin spice is amazing, Ian," she told him, "I like your pipe, too." She looked in as Will was concentrating on his index finger like it was a trigger, and there was a silver spark on it, but when he jumped in surprise, he lost it, "He's pretty good for not doing this before…or is Matt behind the scenes?"

"Matt is more than a telepathic. I always told her that if she took her training farther she could be a mind-controller or higher than that." Ian said with a shake of his head. "I believe Matt is trying to help Will see that power. Rae sees it, she knows he has it, it's just the matter of getting Will to reach out and become one with it. As for Raph, I'm not sure what her plan is involving him."

"Target," Bria answered gently and watched as Sam flicked the lighter, "Sam's using the lighter to get a better handle on what Will's "fire power" might be like," she tapped her chin, "Matt could certainly be a mind controller, if given the right motivation possibly," she mused and took another breath of the pumpkin, "I missed the smell of pipe smoke…" she sighed.

"You're welcome to try. Matt is quite firm that she reached as high as she can go." Ian said with a half-hearted shrug. He looked back to see Will once again trying and Matt seemed to "let go" of the center so Will could do it by himself this time. "I'm going to guess that one of you family members once smoked pipe?"

"My grandfather occasionally smoked pipe, and had an assortment of tobaccos," Bria smiled sadly, "It was always a treat when he did." She watched William narrow his eyes and finally a small spark appeared on the tip of his index finger, but he held onto it, "Very nice," she nodded to herself, "He's quick."

"It's quite a shame that his power is just now being newly discovered. Andrew was just the same way. It's so hard to train those who aren't kids anymore." Ian said wistfully as he placed the pipe to his lips and took in a deep breath before taking it out and gently blew four smoke rings. "It is a rare thing, to hear of a human that likes pipe. Cigars and cigarettes seem to be more popular."

"Depending on cigar I don't mind so much when it's around me, but I've gotten sick many times from being around cigarette smoke," Bria shuddered, "Will's doing rather well, though…" she paused as Rae told him something and Will nodded before focusing more on Raphael who stiffened, "Quite nice of Raph to be target practice since he's still recovering from that gun wound."

"I understand about the cigarettes. Too many chemicals that aren't needed," He sighed, "Anyone can get sick off of those in a hurry. Rachel wanted to do it, but Raph didn't like the fact that she's carrying a babe." Ian gently told Bria, "And of course the two are very eager to train since Rae knows that he has a power and he wants that power to be awakened. Sam…well…though I am quite certain he'd make an excellent target, he is red after all, he has terrible reflexes. He'd jump out the way before Will can even shoot him, so I'm sure they're going to save him for later. Raph knows when to jump and when not it. It's sort of like the game of chicken Nicky used to like to play with cars."

"Wait, game of chicken with cars?" Bria looked at him horrified, "No way! I got hit with a car once, don't want to do it again, thanks." She watched William aim and attempt to shoot, but the spark wasn't strong enough to make it. Will huffed but was determined, so got back into position and tried again.

"Nicky is and always will be a daredevil." Ian said fondly as he brought the pipe towards his line of sight to look at it. There was nothing about it that was special, besides the fact that it was unique and he had it for more than fifty years. "Daniel is starting to become just like him. He gave Ally a heart attack the other day. He jumped off the counter and sprained his leg and hit his head on the floor the poor kid."

"Awww," Bria pouted, "I bet Alley's so glad she's a vampire now, she can do things and get to things faster," she grinned. "Though, how's she handling the blood part of it?" She noted even as will got dud sparks, each time he tried it formed to look more and more like a bullet.

"Nicky says that she'll only drink as long as the glass isn't clear, which is understandable. She treats it like medicine from what I understand." Ian said with a shrug, "Daniel doesn't like it either; he goes for the human food."

"Interesting…" Bria mused, "There was a time where I wished I was a vampire…I even still daydream about it. I have a taste for blood, too...though that's because I'm Iron Anemic," she shrugged and smiled, "Will finally got a bullet to shape."

Indeed it was true. Now the tricky part, how to shoot it. Rae and Sam were telling him how and Matt once again had to be the "presentation" to show him what they meant when they told him to pull the nonexistent trigger. Ian smiled warmly, "I don't like talking about requests without your mate around, but I must ask, is it something you would consider doing? Becoming a vampire I mean?"

"Had this been maybe a couple years ago, before I met Leo, then I would've blurted yes in an instant. However, I would want Leo to spend eternity with me. I doubt he would be able to handle yet another change to his body," Bria sighed, "I'll have to stick to daydreaming…"

"I understand." Ian said with a smile as he turned back to watch Will fail once again at the triggering. However, what did happen was that he powered a little too much up. Ellie was rounded the corner and happily skipped over to where Bria and Ian were, not even sensing what was happening in the training room.

Will didn't see that Ellie was coming as the bullet got out of control and shot. It zoomed and pierced right through the wall. Only then did he hear the dog shape-shifter's high-pitched scream/howl, "Oh god…Ellie?" he called and hurried to the door where Ian and Bria were.

Ellie hadn't been expecting that and the bullet had went right to her shoulder. When she had screamed, Jacob had ran down the stairs, Electric following him close behind. Seeing his woman on the ground, Jacob literally flew out of his clothes and transformed into a bird and landed right next to her and gently picked her up. "Ellie?" He asked gently.

Bria saw that not only did the shifter have a wound similar to a bullet's, but it was also scorched all around, "Wait…Silver fire…Silver bullet! Oh, Ian, Ellie's allergic to silver, isn't she?" she asked looking at the Fireside leader fearfully, "Will Andy know what to do?"

"Yes." Ian said to Bria, "More than likely. I can get Lese and Andrew quickly. Jake," he turned his attention to the bird-shifter. "You know what to do." He disappeared quickly without another word.

Jake brushed Ellie's hair out of her eyes as he gently moved her hands away from the wound, carefully pulling her shirt down a bit so that only oxygen could get to the wound, "Lotion will have to come later, Ellie." He told the dog shifter as she started growling angrily at the wound, "At least the bullet wasn't buried in the skin."

William finally got the wards down and went over to the two, "It seems that it didn't stay at all. Once it hit far enough it just evaporated, leaving nothing but pain," he watched him, "I'm so very sorry, Ellie, Jake," he frowned.

"It's not your fault, you're a newbie." Jacob said gently to William as Ellie whimpered and growled, her body jerking to get into a comfortable position, but he gripped her tightly so that she couldn't move very much and spread the poison, "It seems we know your powers now, and how strong it is."

"Yeah," Will looked and his hands, "I'll have to shoot towards the outside, then," he smiled sheepishly, "Need help getting her to the couch?" he asked considerately.

"It's a little dangerous to move her right now. I have to wait until Lese gets the herbs she needs and comes down to give them to Ellie. It shouldn't be long now, she's really quick for silver allergies." Jacob said with a smile.

"Alright," Will nodded and looked over at Bria who was talking with Rae and the others he was training with. Then he looked back at Jacob, "I don't know much about you," he smiled apologetically, "You're Ellie's mate?"

"I suppose you would call me that, yes." He looked over to see Lese running down the stairs. When she reached them, Jacob easily moved to the side so Lese could work and Andrew was also rounding the corner. He had no choice but to move to the side so the two healers could do what they needed.

"I overheard you talking to Sam and Matt a few nights ago, so I know a little bit about you." He told him as he carefully moved over to the couch. He was highly nervous about his girl, there was no doubt about that, but he knew a calm, level head, was better than a guy freaking out.

"I did see someone in Sam's fire, hiding around the corner," Will nodded, "So it was you." He smiled and sat next to him, watching as Bria helped the two healers out, "You said 'suppose'...does that mean you are in love, but not coupled yet?" he asked curiously.

"Coupled and in love, but we're not of the same species," Jacob said with a soft smile, "I am a bird shifter and she is a dog shifter. Two different groups."

"Why is that supposed to matter?" Will pursed his lips, "The Neko coupled with the turtle turned human," he raised an eyebrow at Jacob and then grinned, "Keep trying."

Jacob rolled his eyes, "Different species yet we're the same because we're human." He sat down on the couch and nodded over at the seat next to him so that Will could sit down. "It doesn't really matter, you're right, I don't know…" He sighed as he looked over at Ellie, "Sometimes I feel this is as far as we're going to go and I'm fine with that."

"You shouldn't stop trying, Jacob," William told him, "Maybe you keep hitting heat cycles wrong and you're not on the same wavelengths. You'll get it, I'm sure," he comforted, "I watched how she hovers around you at dinner and breakfast, a longing look in her eyes. I think she wants a family, like the others."

Jacob looked at Will and then looked over at Ellie who seemed to be getting off of the ground with help from Andrew and from Lese. They guided her over to the small living room so they could keep an eye on the reaction for an hour or so and then let her go free. "I want one, too." He said softly. "It would…make me very happy if I can just…hit that heat cycle right." He paused and then looked at the ground, "But, do we really want a child in the middle of a war?"

"Uh, hello? Rae and Bria are, Lily's starting, so why not?" Will smiled at him happily, "She's coming onto hers possibly tonight, I've kept an eye on her, and then I snagged Don's laptop this afternoon and you should start sinking into it shortly. I found sucky sites, but the general time was around now," he shrugged.

Jacob frowned thinking it over. He picked himself up from the couch and smiled at Will, "You should leave the streets and become a couple's therapist." He teased him.

Will laughed, "But then it wouldn't be any fun. Besides, I don't have the patience for school. I'm lucky I got my GED and diploma," he shrugged and stood as well. He held out his hand, "It was nice talking to you, Jacob. You're quite a mellow fellow," he grinned at the rhyme, "Give Ellie a good time and just keep trying, 'kay?" he winked.

"Thank you," Jacob said sincerely with a smile, "It was a pleasure to meet you as well."

William chuckled and watched Jacob look over at Ellie again and walk over to her. He grinned and looked over to see Lily watching the scene as well, but she kept glancing at the door. He wondered what could be wrong with her.

Ellie and Jacob seemed to be talking for a bit before Ellie suddenly got off of the couch and dragged him away from the group. Rachel shouted something that made Ellie flip her off and push him into her room before following. There wasn't a need for anyone to guess about what had happened.


	21. Another Lover

Another Lover

Lily stretched and looked out at the door, which was open to let cool air in, since Sam, Will, and Raphael were going at it with their fire power. It was rather amazing, how Sam and Raph could both shape and hold Will's silver fire. Sam could make swords, Raph made his Sai, and Will concentrated on his bullets, making sure to aim for the steal wall, 6/10 times making it go through the wall. Jacob and Ellie hadn't come down, so Michelangelo had a chance to show his skills.

Matt walked over to Lily and sat down next to her. Her eyes went towards her stomach. Though Lily had found out that she was pregnant, she couldn't help but to look and be amazed. She was barely showing, even though her kittens wouldn't come until April or May. Most likely April. "I bet you're going to have twins," She sang gently to the neko, "Or triplets."

Lily giggled, "Of course, I am a cat," she sat up and smiled, "At least one of each, and then if I do have a third, that'll be a surprise."

"Even though I envy you ladies for having children, I also don't envy you in the least." Matt said with an eyeroll as she sat down next to Lily with a smile on her face. "Childbirth is a painful thing."

"It's worth it," Lily grinned, but then glanced at the door, "How'd you like Mikey's cooking this morning?" she asked randomly.

"He's really good." Matt said as she leaned back against the couch. "I was actually surprised."

"Why, just because Ellie's always cooking?" Lily raised an eyebrow. Then she blushed a bit, "I'm sorry, that was rude."

"Ellie, Franny, sometimes Rae. Before Ellie it was Jacob and Damon. I don't remember if he's still around or if he left to make a new life or what. I never knew him. Jacob did. They used to be close, or that's what Ellie told me." Matt said with a slight shrug. "I only saw him once and he was a scary looking fellow. All black, make up included and he had a very morbid sense of humor…it was frightening."

"Anyway, why am I surprised? I don't know." Matt said with a shrug. "He's just so hyperactive, I almost feared for whether or not he treated food like experiments."

"Nice," Lily smiled and then looked at the door. She shifted, "Something's not quite…right."

"Frances and his girlfriend," Matt replied as she looked at the door with a slight frown, "I think he's about to storm through the doors in a few seconds…maybe minutes if the argument gets that long."

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend," Lily frowned, "What's the argument about?"

"Frances…" She closed her eyes trying to concentrate, "Apparently treats her like shit, which should reversed…Oh…he just got smacked…and he just clawed her…he's coming in…and he is NOT happy."

Lily jumped up and as Matt said that, Frances punched open the door, "Fran?" she frowned as his eyes blazed and his fangs were out from anger. She'd never seen him like this, and it upset her.

"She did it again?" Matt asked sympathetically as Frances tossed himself against the couch.

His nails were a bit sharper and they were coated with a bit of blood, not a whole lot, but the skin was enough to tell everyone that he scratched someone. Right now, they were buried into his arm, about to puncture holes through his skin. "Yep," Frances said, his voice was low and controlled, but the anger was evident.

Lily grabbed his hands before they could puncture him, "Fran, come on…I'll take you to my room," she smiled at him, "That way you can rant all you want."

Fran let her hold his hand and guide him away from the living room. He had hoped that Donny would come with. Not because he thought that he would lose control-the season doesn't start till later for him- but because Don was probably the calm one to talk to. A good advice giver.

He didn't doubt that Lily couldn't give him some. She could. The problem was that Don might get possessive. He tried to glance at him, but he was no longer around and Fran was going up the stairs, so all he had to look at were the walls.

She opened the door. It was a small room, but Don and Lil seemed to have found a magical way of getting all the books that they wanted crammed against the wall. Some were fallen from their stacks. "Are you sure you want me to rant it out here? I could have done it in the living room, or taken it out in training."

"I doubt you would want to take it out in training, it's extremely hot in there, that's why the door was already cracked open a bit," Lily laughed and sat down on the bed, kicking off her slippers and then she tilted her head at him, "You're a cat, I'm a cat, we click and understand like the others can't. I figured you would want that," she pulled her legs up and crossed them before patting the bed next to her, and Fan immediately sat down, "Well? Who was she? I didn't even know you had a girlfriend…obviously now ex-girlfriend."

Frances smiled weakly, "Yeah…we've been going out for a month. Electric and Sam don't like her very much and neither does Matt." He brought his legs up to his chin. "She told me that I was cheating on her, that she caught me with some other chick, whom I happened to be giving a friendly hug to. Can't that even be legit anymore? Having friends that are girls and still be faithful?"

"I think it should be," Lily nodded, "But with today's stuck-up society, I understand why that's upsetting."

"Ah, it's not just that." Frances said with a sad sigh, "I kind of think that she was using me. Not that I don't mind, I'm really used to it to be frank. I mean, I lost my memory, so who was I and where I was when this thing happened to me I don't know." He shook his head. "But, it's my suspicion. I'm sure Sam and Matt will agree that she was using me."

"She sounds like it," Lily nodded and rubbed his shoulder, "A real lover wouldn't go freaking out over something so minor as a hug. Don's naturally possessive, but at least he didn't start growling at us."

"I'm going to be blunt, if he did start growling at us, I think I would be more than happy about throwing him down on the ground." Frances told her bitterly. "I usually don't get violent angry, but when she starts insulting my loyalty and my faithfulness and my family…well…that ticks me off so much."

Lily smiled, "I'm always glad to call you family," she told him, "She shouldn't have done what she did, and if she did that a lot then she doesn't deserve such an amazing person such as you."

"I'm willing to bet that you're the only girl that's ever going to say that," Frances said with a weak smile.

"I'm sorry," Lily hugged him, "One's better than none, right?"

"Um…technically you are none." Frances pointed out to her, "You're taken if I recall."

"Yeah…but I did like you first," Lily countered with a smirk.

"Ah, but now you're just an ex-girlfriend." Frances sulked teasingly. "One who I don't mind having sex with again," he winked at her.

Lily blushed heatedly, "To…be honest, I wouldn't mind…" she rubbed her neck, "If you need it…"

Frances blinked at her and then he looked at the door and looked back at Lily. "…Lillian," He said slowly to her. "You know I can't do that to you. Not with Don…I mean…he loves you A LOT. This would kill him…Unless you're up to marrying two guys?"

"What's the harm in that?" Lily blinked at him but was rather serious.

"Don will probably disagree and it's rather looked down upon, but Fireside is tolerable." Frances explained to her. "I am serious though, Lily. if you want me, you'll have to marry me and Don has to agree. I doubt he will. Which means, I can either tell him or ask him permission to have sex with you, or you run down tell him you're going to have a bit of fun and I'll mate with you again."

Lily watched him for a moment, "At least kiss me?" she asked, not wanting to leave him, but also didn't want to hurt Don. A kiss was a good mid-point to focus on.

Frances smiled and gently pushed himself close to her and locked his lips against hers. He loved kissing Lily and he felt warm all over when he did. When she left him for Don, he had started looking for a girl that was just like that. He soon discovered that there wasn't. It was just Lily. He wouldn't burden her with that. He wouldn't torment Don like that.

Lily smiled against his lips but then kissed back gently, placing her hand on his shoulder for support, since they were on the edge of the bed. She enjoyed kissing Frances as well, and was always surprised when he sparked her differently yet the same as Donatello did. She needed Fran, wanted to be with him, but what if Don didn't agree? They would have to continue being 'brother and sister' and be unsatisfied. Besides, she would slit her wrists before she cheated on Donny.

Frances watched her for the longest time, wondering what she was thinking about after they parted. Her eyes were glimmering sadness and joy. He reached up and gently caressed her cheek. "What are you thinking about?" He asked hoarsely.

Lily leaned into his hand, "I want to be with you, but like you said, Don…might not want that…" she sighed and rested her forehead against his, a form of cat affection, "I missed you a lot, Fran, over the time you were gone…I don't think you know how much."

"The only way we'll know if Don is against it is if we ask him." Frances told her calmly, wondering when the hell Andrew managed to rub off of him. "And…I think I know how much you missed me. I suffered probably just as much as you did…missed you a lot too."

Lily frowned, "I don't want to leave you to go ask him," she rubbed his cheek, "Fran…I love you, I really do. My heart's big enough for two lovers." She nuzzled him, "Kiss me more, please…"

Frances wasn't sure that would be a good idea. However something told him to just listen to her. There wasn't much harm in a kiss. A kiss was just that if there was no meaning behind it. But damn if he was going to admit aloud that all of his kisses that he was bestowing on her were less than intimate. "As yo wish." He said as he caressed her cheek and brought her closer to him. Their lips collided, but instead of pulling away it got deeper and deeper.

Lily wrapped an arm around his neck and her other hand travelled down his back. She smirked as she felt his shivers and then she slipped out his holder for his braid. Slowly and sensually she unwound his hair and then gripped the back of his head, enjoying the feel of his extremely soft locks, especially the tuffs of his ears. She ran her rough tongue along his lips, begging for entrance, needing more of him.

Frances opened his mouth and allowed her to come inside. Suddenly feeling frisky and smelling her need, he pulled her close to him, falling backwards onto the bed. Their teeth crashed together by mistake and he could taste a faint copper in her mouth. Who was bleeding, he couldn't tell.


	22. Love Triangle

Love Triangle

Lily couldn't tell who growled first, her or him. However, she flipped them over so he was on top. She nipped at his lip playfully but his fang grazed her back. She mewed softly and pulled away, licking the wounded area. She heard another growl and looked back at him, but he had a puzzled expression before it turned to horror. Glancing over she saw who had growled. "Donny-Don…" she gasped. The door was slightly ajar, so he must've just come in, in time to see Fran's fang cut her mouth.

Frances looked over as well to see how angry and upset Donny looked. His eyes were in narrow slits and his arms were folded tightly against his chest. There was no doubt how betrayed he must feel. Frances gently got off of her and watched him closely. "Don," he said softly, "It's exactly what it looks like, but the meaning is different."

"Really?" Donny said in distain, "I doubt that."

"Me and you both love her." Frances snapped at him. "She loves the both of us, too. Stop making her decide. She wants us to share!"

Donny looked at Lily who hadn't said a word besides his name since he walked in. "Is this true?"

Lily stood up and went over to him, standing firmly, "Yes, it is. I love you, forever, longer than that. However, my heart is also gripped within Frances's hand. I can't chose, Donny-Don. If I follow you completely, only, Frances is left broken and hurt, and he'll take a part of me with him. Then, if I chose him…" she bit her lip, "You'll undoubtedly die."

Lily fought tears and then looked at both of them, "Donny-Don, I knew I should've come down and told you Fran needed me. However, because of how upset he was, I didn't want to leave him alone. I was also being selfish; I didn't want to bring him down with me because it would've been awkward if I just randomly asked you to mate with another male. Especially with Matt's power, of course Sam can sense Matt, and after Sam goes Electric…it's just a chain that I didn't want occurring."

Lily huffed, "I'm sorry Donny-Don…but really, to be blunt, I want…no, need both of you."

Donny glanced over at Frances and Frances kept his stare steady. Neither of them spoke for the longest time and he knew that Frances had thought this over. "What will happen if you fall for another girl? Once you mate with both of us, there isn't a return button."

"What other girl can there be?" Frances snapped. "I'm the only human-neko around besides Lily. Had you not shown up, we're the ones that would probably mate with each other and live for one another because we're the only ones. Its true, I probably cannot give her children because I was a human first and she probably cannot give me children because she's a cat first. Only you can give her a family and I respect that."

"So, if that's the case, I'd be a stock breeder." Donny said with an raised eyebrow. "And you two would be the adopted parents…or at least one of you will be."

"If you are against me mating with her, then I respect that, too. I'm just as happy as being her brother and an uncle to her family than a lover. I'm easily adaptable. I don't have a Lifebond and I don't have a past life. This is my first life as rare as that is." Frances said smoothly. "I'm limited to who I can be with, and I understand how rash this is to you. It goes against all logic."

Lily frowned as she watched them go back and forth. She was feeling agitated, in need of something or other, be it one partner or two, but she really needed them both, "Donny-Don, for one you are not a breeder, you're my lover and mate family or not. Two, I've been with Fran before, and I know he flips my switches on high just as badly as you do. Fran has said he would back off if you didn't agree, but just as much as I need you I need him, and he needs me. I'll marry both of you, I don't see the big deal in why not, but he also said you need to agree to that, too. As much as you'd like to believe it, he's not forcing anything and wants you to make up your mind as well."

"Lily…" Donny murmured softly as he looked at her. Frances glanced in between them before standing up and headed towards the door. "Where are you going?" The ninja asked.

"For you two to talk it over," Frances said, "For you to think in peace. I know that it's really hard to think under pressure, so I'm leaving. I'll be hanging around Electric, we might go off and patrol, so if its your guys turn, see if you can't intersect with us." He smiled at the ninja before leaving the room.

Lily ran jittery fingers through her hair and sat on the edge of the bed. She was debating on going after him, dragging him back in, even if all three of them were silent the rest of the night. At least she wouldn't be apart from Frances...She had half lied when she said she didn't want him to be alone. Truth be told **she** didn't want to be alone without him.

Donny watched her for the longest time before looking away. Frances wanted her. Half of him wanted to make sure that it never happened again, but Lily had said that she wanted him too. Needed the both of them. He was at a loss. There were no words for him to use to even begin to describe what he was feeling, what he was thinking.

Lily looked up at Donatello, but said nothing. She said all she needed to, anything else and she'd be swaying him. No, he had to chose. However, she dreaded the "no" decision, because if he chose that then there wouldn't be another chance. In other words, she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Do you love him?" Donny's quiet voice asked. His head was turned away from her.

"I do, Donny-Don," Lily stood up and went over to him, "However, I will always love you, too. Or…do you feel…" she bit her lip, "Rejected? Betrayed?" She turned his face toward her, "Because if you do, I'm truly sorry. I asked him to kiss me, Donny-Don, it was an accident his fangs cut me."

"I don't know what I feel right now." Donny murmured softly to Lily. "I don't know how to react."

Lily kissed him gently, "Donny-Don...do you trust me?" she asked softly and nuzzled his neck, simply giving him affectionate butterfly kisses, nothing serious.

"I trust you." Donny replied softly. "But this isn't about trust."

"Then what is it about? Letting another male touch me?" Lily looked at him, "You're jealous? Do you think you're no longer pleasing me right? Do you think you're not good enough? What is it about? Because I can tell you, that Fran would never intentionally hurt me, you get jealous a bit too easily, you will always satisfy me in every way possible, and you're more than good enough. I even doubt I deserve you…"

"It's about letting another male love you." Donny said as he looked at her. "This isn't about petty jealousy and it's certainly not about me satisfying you. Don't you get how big of a deal this is? We, I, both of us have to decide about this. You may be okay with marrying him, about marrying the both of us…but I am not and I don't want you to chose between the two of us and I already claimed you. He may be limited, but even Rae could tell him and you and anyone that anyone could change their destiny. Even Ian might agree! This isn't about sex or jealousy, it's about love."

_'It's…a no…'_ Lily laid her ears back, "I do love him, Don. Is it because you don't that you're upset?" she asked as their positions changed suddenly and she was the one looking away. She had pushed wrong buttons, she was sure of it.

"I like the kid, he's a nice guy." Donny said with a shake of his head. "But...Lily...you said it yourself. He's only going to be heartbroken if you chose me over him. I'd die if you chose him over me."

"But I won't choose," Lily protested, "I can't choose." She rubbed her right ear in that nervous habit she had and turned around, pacing, "I don't know what else to say to you, Donny, I really don't. I can't and won't hurt either of you. I love both of you; I need both of you in my life. It hurt when he was gone so long and every time he leaves on patrol, or whenever he leaves at all, I keep thinking he won't come back…"

Right before Don could say anything, Matt's voice called up the stairs. "Lily! Get down here!" Her voice had a slight twinge of regret and sadness. Donny wondered what happened, was it Raph? Did something happen during training? He wanted to go down there to find out, but something told him to stay put and let Lily go.

Lily frowned and kissed Don before she opened the door and walked down the stairs quickly, "Mattie? What is it?" she asked furrowing her brows. She then saw Electric, "Why are you still here? Aren't you supposed to do patrol with Fran?" she asked and then when she saw Matt get that face stating she put 2 and 2 together, her heart sank to her stomach.

"Fran left." Electric said softly as he leaned against the wall. "We were supposed to do patrol, but he told me that tonight he wanted to do it alone…I thought maybe he had another mission from Ian."

Matt shook her head wildly, her hair slapped her from side to side. "That's not the case! Lil, what just happened between you, Donny, and Fran? He picked up his duffle bag and packed everything that he owned in it and told me not to tell you. I read his mind and I thought maybe this just once I should bend the rules about keeping secrets. He isn't coming back. He thinks you and Donny were going to say no. I think he wants to try finding life outside of Fireside and all of us know that's kind of impossible to do unless you join up a freak show…"

Lily felt the blood drain from her face, and everything settled at her stomach where she felt about to vomit, but kept herself in check, "He loves me…I love him, but Don…" she couldn't finish, her throat tied in knots. She opened her mind, allowing Matt to see and hear everything from her perspective.

Matt closed her eyes and allowed the memories to flood her mind. When it was over, she opened her eyes and moved to the side. "He can't have gone far, so why don't you try talking some sense into him? Also, before you go, he told me that he wanted me to give this to you." She gently took out a ring box from her skirt's pocket and handed it to Lily. Inside was a small silver ring was a love knot all the way around. There were small diamonds in the rope's middle. "He loves you a lot, but he said that if Don doesn't want you guys to get married, then take the ring as a promise."

Lily let the tears fall and slipped the ring on. She hugged Matt, "Arigato," she said before zipping to the door and then out, not bothering to close the door behind her.

Frances made sure to take his time walking out of Fireside's territory. He could see the border from where he was and he sighed softly. The outside world was going to be the harshest place to live unless he could find a gang that could accept him for what he was and his skills.

"Where are you going?" A child's voice alerted him out of his thoughts. He gritted his teeth and turned around before blinking. Not her, anyone but her, he thought with a frown. Emily was standing right behind him, her hair tied up in two pigtails and her nightgown was filthy.

"Just because everyone likes children doesn't mean you should keep yourself in that form." Frances sweatdropped at the girl, "But then again that's how most people recognize you, isn't it?"

"You're not really answering the question." Emily pouted, her lips puckering outwards and her hands went to her hips in a defiant motion. "Where are you going? You're leaving her behind and you told her you wouldn't do that."

"It's for the best." Frances shrugged as he shifted the bag up higher. "Now, look, as much as I like talking to you and stuff, I really, really have to start my way out of here."

"No you don't." Emily said, her pout transforming into a smile. "Because you're talking to me. It's not really for the best. As a kid, people don't really notice you, but I notice a lot of things. She loves you and Donny likes you too. You're family to them."

"That's the whole problem Em." Frances pointed out to her. "That's the exact problem."

"Where's the problem? Family love is good as relationship love. Lily loves you as two things, a lover and a brother, you can fall either way if you so chose, but since you both want to be lovers and Donny is her Lifebond, things get a little tricky." Emily said with a shrug. "But that doesn't mean you should give up."

"I didn't give up." Frances said with a smile, "I think you've been stuck in that form for too long if you think that of me." He looked away from her and towards where he had just left. "Do you want to know something? It's because I love her that I'm leaving. It's because I can't let go of her that I'm letting go. I and she can love each other. I have no qualms with that. But I know full well where and who she belongs to. And Em…I'm glad…I'm…happy for her."

Emily watched him for the longest time, "I don't understand."

Frances shook his head, "I don't get it either, but I love her enough to let her go. I love her enough to let her love someone else...to let her be with someone that truly belongs to her. I have limited people to chose from since there's the whole lifebonded thing and maybe not everyone is put on earth to find love. Maybe we're here to find...companionship. I found that in a lot of people, but I want to journey out and find my own way." He looked towards her with a big fanged grin. "I want to find and discover my love. Maybe when I come back, I can still love Lily, or maybe I will always love her and never have room for someone else. I won't be in between them again. That is a promise."

"Fran? Frances! Where are you, please?" Lily's horse voice was shouting, "Where'd you go?" her voice broke in many areas, "Fran!"

"She's calling for you." Emily stated obviously as she listening to the echoes that Lily was sending. "What are you going to do? Leave and leave her alone or call back and tell her where you are?"

Frances bit his lip harshly. "I'm only doing this so I can say goodbye." He said as he raised his voice, "Lily? I'm over here!"

Lily had just turned the corner as he said that and she looked at him, and the girl, "Emily," she smiled and hugged her before looking at Frances, "Why'd you leave? You're too close to the border," she frowned and stepped closer to him.

"You know why I'm leaving Lil." Frances said softly to her. "I was hoping to leave here before someone noticed me gone, but I guess Matt and the little brat down there really don't want me gone."

Emily rolled her eyes playfully and went back to being her four-year old self. "Princess Lily you can command him to stay. He's one of your people! He's really, really taken with you."

"You shut up." Frances said his cheeks aflame, "She already knows that."

"I'll…figure this out, Em…thank you, for stalling him," Lily smiled weakly and then went up to Fran, "No, I don't know why you're leaving. Matt told me something, and I came to a conclusion, but in all I really don't know why." She watched him closely, "Why?"

"You told the girl to stall me? I was wondering why she showed up from nowhere!" Frances said, cursing at himself. He should have known. She wouldn't have just butted in unless she saw fit. Lily must have persuaded her, god damn! "Agh, I was going to leave because Don was going to say no and besides you belong with him. I don't have a right to your heart and believe it or not Lily…your heart is only big enough for one person. That's Donny."

Lily gritted her teeth and wrapped a swift hand around Fran's shirt, pulling him forward and clashing her lips with his. She felt herself melt with relief at being in contact with him again. however, her hand that went to his shoulder found the strap to his duffle bag. She pulled away breathing heavily, "What…the fucking hell…is _this_ for?" she growled. She knew the answer, but was in denial.

"Lily, calm down." Frances said watching her with shock as he got down on his knees. "Lily…" Emily silently walked up behind her and placed her small hands on her shoulders and they glowed. Frances could feel the heat and Lily crumpled to the ground. "What the fuck did you do?"

"Relax, Fran," Emily said as she looked at him, "She was going to into hysterics."

Frances just stared at her blankly and Emily shook her head. "It's best to make them relax and fall asleep when they're going off into hysterics. The heart can't take much...it's a fragile yet strong muscle. Emotional and physical shocks can destroy the heart permanently. You will be a lover of a corpse...and I doubt you want that."

"…I'm not necrophilia, thank you." Frances said with a wince. "I can take her from here, but will you-"

"Your stuff is scattered around, so I'll be more than happy to pick them up for you and leave them at the warehouse." Emily said with a smile. "You go and give her some shelter…maybe when she comes too, you can tell her the truth."

"I never told her a lie."

"But you did." Emily countered. Frances didn't have the heart to argue so he silently picked up Lily and left Emily alone.

The Guardian Angel smiled faintly as she looked up to the cloudy sky, "Love is a funny thing, isn't it?" She chuckled as she started picking up the things.


	23. Note

Authors' Note -

This story will never be worked on ever again. A lot of information was lost in a transfer from one computer to the next and once that computer was formated there was no retreaving anything. So sorry for those of you who were loyal and followed us this far.

Thank you,

Kerica and LynxTiger

P.S. LynxTiger wrote an ending fo this story a long time ago, so once Kerica finds it in her e-mail she will post it for the forever end of the TMNT Books.


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